


Shadyside Harmonies

by Opatrickr



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Ambi - Freeform, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gentle touches, M/M, Muffy - Freeform, Sweet Moments, This is literally only going to be fluff, Tyrus - Freeform, Tyrus deserves only happiness, You might need to see your dentist after this, never ending fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-07-28 01:33:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 26,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20055859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Opatrickr/pseuds/Opatrickr
Summary: TJ wants to spend every day of summer with Cyrus but doesn't want to get bored. He decides to make a list of date ideas and complete it with Cyrus. There are seventy-four days of summer vacation, and TJ plans on making every day count.





	1. Wednesday, June 5th

**Author's Note:**

> I've just wanted to write never-ending fluff for these two cuties, so this is gonna be a long one haha It might end up feeling a little like a bunch of one-shots, but I hope you enjoy it! If you do feel free to leave a Kudo! Also, let me know what you think in the comments!

The last day of school had my mind buzzing with ideas of what to do this summer. Cyrus and I had held hands at Andi’s party; we had decided that we would take things slow and get used to the idea of being more than friends with each other. I was happy to do whatever Cyrus wanted.

I watched the clock slowly tick toward the last minute. I spent the day making a list of a new thing we could do for every day of summer. There were seventy-four days of summer (I. had counted them about six times), and I had come up with seventy-four date ideas; some of them better than others.

The bell went off and made me jump; the entire class let out a collective sigh and started piling out of the classroom. I was last to leave, and I shot a text to Cyrus.

**TJ: ** _Wanna walk home together?_

**Cy <3:** _ Yeah! Meet me by the benches out front!_

I smiled at my phone. Cyrus always seemed excited when he texted. I made my way to my locker and shoved everything into my backpack. We were supposed to clean it out before the end of the school year, about a week before classes ended, but I had put it off. After squeezing in the last binder, I left the locker open, so the janitors could wipe it down and headed to the front of the school.

Most of the student body had left on the buses; there were only a few stragglers left, the kids that either rode their bikes to school or the ones that walked. Cyrus was sitting on top of one of the picnic tables reading a book.

“You know, there isn’t assigned reading this summer,” I said.

Cyrus jumped, “Teej! Don’t scare me like that!” He laughed, “You know I have asthma!”

“Sorry, you were so distracted, I couldn’t help but sneak up,” I said as I bit my lip.

The smile that made me fall for him spread across his lips, “It’s okay,” He stood up and hopped off the table, “So, I found out this afternoon that all four of my parents are going to be going on a couples retreat for the first couple weeks of the summer. None of them thought about asking the others about their plans so now I'm left with either going with them,” he made a disgusted face, which made me chuckle, then continued, “Or, maybe, potentially staying with you? You can say no, I realize how rude it is to invite yourself over to someone’s house. Also, it’s extremely short notice, and we might get annoyed with each other.”

Cyrus was starting to ramble, so I cut him off by grabbing his hand, “Cy, stop. It sounds like a great idea.” His eyes flicked down to my hand on his, “I just have to ask my mom.”

I went to pull out my phone just as Cyrus’ went off, “Oh, apparently my parents had the same idea!” He said.

I unlocked my phone just as a message popped up on it from my mom.

**Mother Dearest:** _The Goodman’s called me and asked if it would be okay for Cyrus to stay with us. I told them that it would be our pleasure. He’s going to have to stay in your room, though._

**TJ:** _ Awesome! A two-week sleepover sounds like a blast!_

Cyrus was looking over my shoulder, “That’s so funny that you have your mom in your phone like that. I don’t have nicknames for my parents, just friends.” He beamed.

We started walking toward Cyrus’ house as I asked, “What do you have me as?”

Cyrus’ cheeks turned red, “Please don’t be mad.” He said as he held his phone out to me.

I took it from him and opened his messages. My eyes almost popped out of my head, “I told you not ever to use that name!” My contact name was **Thelonius (Theo).**

“I’m sorry, but I wasn’t lying when I said I loved it! Plus no one will know it’s you! I didn’t put a J anywhere near it!”

I couldn’t help but laugh at how flustered he was getting, “I like the Theo part. That’s cleverer than TJ, in my opinion.”

Cyrus visibly relaxed, “Well, what do you have me as in your phone, Theo?” He said the name with a devious tone.

Now it was my turn to blush, “You don’t need to see it. It’s not that clever.”

A wicked smile appeared on his lips, and he got a mischievous look. His hand went straight for my phone in my hand. I lifted it high into the air, “No, no, no.” I said as I tutted him.

“No fair,” He pouted, “You have longer arms than me.” He attempted to reach up to my hand with his. He got on his tippy-toes, then proceeded to fall into me. I took a step back and wrapped my arms around him to catch him.

“Woah!” I said as I took another step back with one of my feet to steady myself.

His face was only inches away from mine; his dark brown eyes stared up into mine for a second before he smiled bashfully and pulled away, “Sorry.” He said.

I smiled at him, “It’s okay.”

He then snatched my phone from my hand while I was distracted by his beautiful eyes.

“Aww, Teej. That is so cute! When did you add the little heart?” He asked.

I didn’t know how to answer that without sounding weird, “Um, after that day when I taught you to somersault.” I scratched the back of my neck, nervously.

Cyrus looked up from my phone, “Really?”

“Really,” I said.

Cyrus let out a small puff of air, “That’s super sweet.”

I looked down at the ground and continued to walk toward Cyrus’ house. He fell into step with me when I passed him, then handed my phone back to me. I took it and let our hands touch a little longer than necessary.

I could See Cyrus’ house coming up ahead of us, when he asked, “You said that only five people know your real name and that they’re all named Kippen. Are you one of the five, or is there another Kippen I don’t know about?”

I smiled, “No, I did not count myself as one of the five; my older sister also knows about it. I mean she should, she was there when I was born.” I laughed.

A look of awe went across his face, “Yet another thing I didn’t know about you! You really are a mystery. What is your sister’s name? Was she also named after a musician?”

I laughed at his curiosity, “No, she is named after a band. Her name is Ambrosia, but my grandparents had the same reaction to her name as they did mine, so she just goes by Amber.”

Cyrus looked at me with a raised eyebrow, “Amber? You mean the girl with long blond hair, dated Jonah, works at the spoon, Amber?”

“I forget that she dated Jonah. But yeah that’s the one, she’s crazy, but I love her.” I said, simply.

Cyrus just kept blinking wildly, “How has this never come up? How has she never said anything? How have _you_ never said anything? My mind is going a million miles a second right now!”

I laughed as we walked up to the front steps to Cyrus’ house, “I don’t know, her and I don’t hang out that much anymore.” I smiled at him, “You can run in and pack your bag really quick if you want, I’ll wait out here.”

Cyrus was scratching his head, like he was thinking, “I won’t be long. I always have a bag of clothes ready for an emergency.”

Cyrus was right; it was only about two minutes of waiting before he returned with a giant duffle bag. He couldn’t stop himself from asking more questions the entire way to my house. His curiosity was adorable, and I couldn’t help but smile harder with every question.

“By the way,” I started, “I’ve come up with a different activity for each day of the summer! There are seventy-four days of summer, so I made a list of seventy-four activities!”

Cyrus’ face lit up, “A list? How very _me_ of you!” he laughed. “But seriously, that sounds like the best idea ever! I can’t believe we will get to spend every day together!”

“It’s going to be a great summer!” I said to him with a grin.


	2. Thursday, June 6th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TJ and Cyrus go grocery shopping!

After spending the previous evening going over the list of date ideas, Cyrus and I had managed to fall asleep in the living room. I woke up to the sound of quiet snoring coming from my lap. Cyrus’ had fallen asleep on me and used my legs as a pillow. I smiled down at him and his lips that were slightly parted. One of my arms was pinned under his back, with my free hand I rubbed my eyes. Cyrus’ hair looked so soft while it was all messy from sleep. I reached down and let my fingertips gently graze the tips of his hair. It was as smooth as I had imagined. I didn’t dare run my fingers through it though.

Another quiet snore escaped his lips, and it made me chuckle. Cyrus’ head bounced a little from my laugh, and a smile formed on his lips.

In a small whisper, he asked, “Was I snoring?”

I smiled at his raspy voice, “Just a little; it was cute, though.”

Cyrus suddenly bolted upright, which made me jump, “Did I fall asleep on you?”

I shook out my arm that had been pinned under him as I replied, “Yeah, don’t worry about it, though.” My hand was tingling.

Cyrus began to laugh, “Is your arm okay? I have joint cream if you need it!” I shot him a disbelieving look, “What? I have to be prepared for any circumstance!”

“That’s amazing.” I shook my head with a smile.

Cyrus stretched his hands up and yawned, “So,” He let out a big puff of air, “What is the first thing we’re going to do this summer?”

“I don’t know yet; I was going to go make us some breakfast while I thought about it.” I said as I pushed myself up from the couch, “I was thinking scrambled eggs and some muffins?” I wiggled my eyebrows at Cyrus.

His face lit up, “Did you get?” I nodded and ran from the room, “Yes!” I heard him say enthusiastically.

As I made the eggs, I warmed up the muffins in the oven. Chocolate-chocolate chip, Cyrus’ favorite. Cyrus was humming something that sounded familiar, “Are you humming the swing song?”

Cyrus got quiet, so I turned away from the stove to face him, he blushed as he said, “When I’m with you sometimes my mind drifts back to that first time we talked.” He paused to read my face, “I was so scared that you were going to make fun of me.” A pang of guilt shot through my stomach; I had been so cruel back then. I would’ve been scared of me too. “But all you did was ask if I had one for the slides. I was so shocked; even Buffy would’ve poked a little fun at me.”

I smiled at him, and went back to cooking, “I was shocked that you had a song and that you even told me that you did. You know, for someone who says he’s not the bravest, you sure like to defy that.”

I suddenly felt arms wrap around my waist, as Cyrus pressed his head against my back, “Thanks for saying that, that was really sweet.” My hand went to his, and I laced my fingers through his. We stood there for a minute while I stirred the eggs in the pan and we swayed back and forth slowly. Cyrus finally broke the comfortable silence that had fallen between us, “Where are your parents?”

I had to think hard, with Cyrus wrapped around me my head was all fuzzy, “My mom works at a doctor’s office during the day and teaches piano in the evenings. I don’t know how close you are with Amber or what she’s told you, but our dad lost his job a while back, hence Amber and I both having jobs, and he had to find one in the city, so he spends the week there and comes home on the weekends.”

“That sounds expensive,” Cyrus commented.

“His job pays for his hotel room while he’s there,” I said.

The eggs were done so I gently pulled Cyrus off of my waist, turned the oven off, and went to the cupboard for some plates.

We both sat down at the kitchen table and ate. Cyrus asked, “Do you miss your dad while he’s away?”

“Yeah, but we always do stuff on the weekends to make up for the lost time. I think it’s been good for my parents to have some time apart.” It was true; after my dad had lost his job, my mom had been at his throat for him to get a new one. Amber would come into my room while they shouted at one another and we would watch a movie with the volume all the way up with headphones in.

“Yeah, Amber mentioned the fighting a while back, now that I think about it,” Cyrus said as he took a huge bite out of his muffin. As he pulled it away from his mouth, melted chocolate left spots all over his face. He looked at me with questioning eyes, “What?”

Leaning across the table, I used my napkin to dab at his cheeks, “You made a mess of your face.”

“I know, I just wanted you to clean it off for me.” He smiled devilishly.

“I think I know what we can do today. When I was making breakfast, I noticed that we were low on some groceries. I don’t think my mom would mind if I used my emergency debit card for some shopping.” I smiled at him as I shoveled in the last bit of eggs into my mouth.

Cyrus smiled, “Can I take a shower before we go?”

“Yeah, no problem, just ignore my sister’s mess in there. She seems to think that you have to have a different cream for every part of her body.” I rolled my eyes.

Laughing, Cyrus took a bite of his muffin and jumped up from the table, “I’ll be done in like ten minutes.”

He ran from the kitchen, and I started to clean up. I still shocked me how easy it was to interact with Cyrus; he really was the only person I could talk with about anything. He never judged, only asked clarifying questions. I started humming the swing song as I rinsed the dishes and placed them in the dishwasher. I glanced at the clock and noticed that it had been ten minutes. I listened as Cyrus bounded down the stairs. Then I heard a crash, which made me bolt out of the kitchen.

“Cyrus?” I yelled around the corner. I skidded to a stop, “Are you-”

He was pushing himself up off the ground, “I’m good, I fall at least once a day. I’m glad I got it out of the way so early!”

As he stood up, he began to wobble, I took his hand in mine, “You sure you’re okay?”

Cyrus laughed, “As much as I love seeing you so worried about me, I’m totally fine. By the end of the summer, you’ll probably be waiting for the next fall.”

I sighed, “Well, I’ll always be there to catch you.” He smiled at that, “I’m going to go change clothes and then we can head off!”

Cyrus and I walked shoulder to shoulder to the grocery store. Our hands brushed a few times which encouraged me to link our pinkies together. Cyrus smiled but kept talking about a dinosaur documentary he had watched the week before. I could listen to him talk about anything that he loved, for hours.

When we got to the store, I pulled up my list on my phone, “We _need _to get all of this, but I’m sure my mom wouldn’t mind if we added a few movie snacks in there too.”

Cyrus gasped, “Theo, you’re not suggesting that we misuse the power that your mom has given us?”

I scoffed, “That is exactly what I was suggesting!” I took his hand in mine, and we began darting around the store, finding everything we needed. Cyrus couldn’t help but grab some dinosaur egg oatmeal. I decided to grab a bag of sour patch kids. We both agreed on getting the extra buttery popcorn. Finally, after an hour of running around the store, we finally got to the register.

The woman at the register kept giving us a knowing smile when either one of us would poke the other and make them laugh.

As I swiped the card to pay the woman, whose nametag read ‘**Martha**,’ said, “You two make a cute couple.”

We both abruptly stopped what we were doing and smiled bashfully at her. We glanced at each other and smiled. “Thanks,” I said as I walked around to the end where our bags were waiting.

Cyrus followed and smiled at Martha, “Have a good day ma’am!”

We took a long way home so we could talk about everything and anything. When the sun started to set, we finally started back to my house. The first day of summer was a success, and someone told us that we made a cute couple, so it was a perfect day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've set a goal of at least a 1k words per chapter; it's oddly easier than I thought it would be haha I hope you like this! Please leave a Kudo and a comment if you want!


	3. Friday, June 7th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cyrus learns a lot.

“So,” Cyrus said, he and I had decided to have a lazy day, we were both lying on the couch with our legs intertwined and books on our laps. “I think for our date today, that we should plan the days that we go and do some of the activities on your list!”

He poked my leg with his big toe, which made me look up from my book with a smile, “I think that sounds fun, but, can I finish this chapter?”

Cyrus smiled back at me with the smile that always melted my heart, “Of course!”

We both went back to reading. I could see Cyrus looking up and smiling at me every few minutes. “What are you looking at?” I finally asked as I closed my book.

Cyrus smiled with pursed lips, “I don’t know, I’m still amazed that we’re even here right now.”  
I was confused, “Why? Here at my house? It only makes sense; your parents love my parents.”

Cyrus shook his head with a smile, “You really are oblivious sometimes.”

“What?” I asked.

He pointed at our legs, I was now rubbing circles in his calf with my toe, “This was only a figment of my imagination a few months ago. Now, here we are!”

I set my book down, next to the couch, and I grabbed his foot and pulled him closer to me. A giggle escaped him as I squeezed his foot. I could tell he was ticklish and trying his hardest not to kick me. I shifted so that I was sitting upright on the couch and I pulled Cyrus into my side, so we were snuggled together, “Alright, now that we’re comfortable-”

Cyrus interrupted, “You could’ve just asked me to come closer.”

“But… that doesn’t allow as much tickling!” I said as I poked at his side, with the arm wrapped around his shoulders.

He pressed his face into my neck to stifle his laughter, feeling his nose and mouth pressed against my neck made an explosion of butterflies go off in my stomach.

He finally grabbed my hand and pinned it to the couch cushion, “Teej! I’m going suffocate!” He gasped.

“Okay, okay.” I wrapped my arm around his waist and pressed him against me.

“You should pull up the list you made.” He said.

I pulled out my phone and got the list up, “So we got the grocery shopping done!”

“That was an easy one,” Cyrus commented.

“We’re currently doing this one,” I said as I pointed to it on the list.

“Your date idea was to plan a date together?” He sat up and looked at me, “That’s too cute!”  
I smiled triumphantly, “Anything we do together is a good time.”

Cyrus collapsed back against me, “What on earth is ax throwing?”

“I don’t really know; I saw a sign for it downtown. It was on my way home from work. I think we should do that this weekend, that way we don’t have to be around my family too much.”

“I like your family, listening to your mom teach piano is so cool,” Cyrus said as he grabbed my hand and started playing with my fingers. “You know I always thought you had basketball hands, but you really have piano hands.” I chuckled, “Could you play for me?”

I laughed again, “If you really want, I haven’t had a lesson in years.”

“That’s okay; I won’t even know if you make a mistake if you play a song I don’t know!” He nudged his shoulder against my side.

I gave him a squeeze and untangled myself from him. Standing up, I walked over to the piano. One of my favorite things to do was to play random chords until something began to fit together. I decided to find a chord that made me feel that same way Cyrus did. I played the first one and let my hands go from there. The keys felt familiar under my fingertips, and the pushing of the pedals came back to me. The chords sounded whimsical and soft; they sounded like how Cyrus made me feel. Every new chord I played blended into the last, my eyes fell shut as I began to feel the music flow through me. Eventually, I let the song come to an end and let my hands settle on the keys.

I heard a sniff from behind me, I whipped my head o look at Cyrus, he was wiping at his face, “Are you okay, Cy?”

He sniffed, “Yeah, that was just so beautiful. What was that song called? I want to go and download it!”

I half smiled at his cute reddened cheeks, “Sorry, I just made that up. You can’t buy it anywhere.” I paused, thinking about my next words carefully, “I just played how you make me feel.”

Cyrus’ eye got as big as doe eyes, “I make you feel like that?” He blinked a few times, and another tear fell down his cheek. Standing up from the couch, he ran over to me. His arms wrapped around my neck, and he buried his face in my shoulder. “Thank you for doing that,” came his muffled voice.

“Teaching you to play the piano is on the list, when do you want me to?” I asked.

He let go of me and sat down next to me on the bench, “I just want to watch you play today, maybe someday next week, though.”

I suddenly had a strong urge to turn and kiss him, the lips felt like too much, so I stopped myself. I decided to stare at my hands instead. Then I felt the lightest touch on my cheek and froze.

“Sorry,” Cyrus said, quietly, “Thank you didn’t feel like enough to express how happy that just made me.”

I turned my head slightly and looked at him from the corner of my eye, “That was a bold move, underdog.”

“You were the last one to make a bold move; I figured that it was my turn.” Cyrus sighed.

The front door swung open and made both of us jump, “Hey, nerd! Hey Cyrus!” Amber said as she walked through the door.

Cyrus replied first, “Hello, Ambrosia!”

I flinched at his name choice, knowing what was about to happen, “Thelonious Jagger!” She roared at me. “We promised never to tell anyone our real names!” She looked at me with pure rage.

I swallowed hard, “I-”

“I made him tell me!” Cyrus cut me off, “I told him that I wouldn’t ever talk with him again if he didn’t tell me.” Cyrus lied. I was impressed.

She narrowed her eyes at him, “There are only five people in the world who know my name, and they are all named Kippen, count your blessings, Cyrus.” The rage on her face melted away, “Although, that is cute how hard my nerd of a brother has fallen for you.” I blushed. “Anyway, Andi said to tell you hi!”

Shock spread across his face, “You were with Andi? She told Buffy and me that she was busy this whole summer! A whole bunch of SAVA related stuff.” I furrowed my brow at his use of that word that I didn’t know. “I’ll explain later,” He said to me and then turned back to Amber, “What were you two doing?”

Amber smiled mischievously, “You’d have to ask Andi for that answer, blackmailer.” She looked between us, “You two are disgustingly cute, I hate it.” With that, she turned and went upstairs.

Cyrus leaned into me again, “I guess I’m glad Andi’s having a good time with someone this summer. I was worried she was going to be lonely.”

“Sorry, by the way,” I said.

“For what?” He asked as he picked up my hand to play with my fingers again.

I smiled at how small his hand looked next to mine, “I forgot to tell you that the ban on using my full name extended to Amber as well.”

Cyrus chuckled, “It’s fine, I’ve seen her angrier before, that was nothing.”

“It is so weird that you’re friends with her,” I said.

“She’s awesome.” He said.

I raised my eyebrow, “That’s one word for it.” Cyrus pinched the top of my hand, “Ouch!”

“Be nice!” He exclaimed. Then he kissed the top of my hand.

That little kiss made my heart flutter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was just a little glimpse of their day; I just wanted some snuggling! I hope you like it! Let me know what you think in the comments! I don't mind any critiques either! Also, feel free to leave a Kudo if you like it so far.


	4. Saturday, June 8th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TJ and Cyrus share a moment.

My eye socket still ached from earlier today as I lay in bed drifting off. I could tell Cyrus wasn’t asleep yet because I knew what his breathing sounded like when he was out. I had been running over the day in my mind; I hadn’t wanted to spend too much time at home, just because I didn’t feel like being pestered by my parents. Boxing class was probably not the brightest idea I had ever had, but overall, it ended up being fun, and Cyrus really seemed to enjoy the time together. While I was letting Cyrus practice his jabs, I had sneezed and dropped my guard just as Cyrus was launching another blow. He ended up catching me on the edge of my eye socket. It didn’t hurt too bad, because of the gloves, but it was still sore. I was pretty sure that Cyrus almost cried after hitting me, which made the entire situation even funnier to me. He was so worried about me, and he wouldn’t stop grabbing my face and checking for a concussion for the rest of the day. Every time his small hands gently pulled my face to look at him, my heart melted. Even though he was checking for a concussion, it was still wonderful to be able to stare into his eyes without it being awkward.

My eyelids were beginning to get heavy with sleep and I was about to drift off when Cyrus’ sweet voice broke the silence as he whispered, “Teej? You awake?”

I smiled at his shy tone, “Yeah, Cy. What’s up?”

“How’s your face?” he asked, his voice sounding thick.

I sighed, “Cy, I’m fine; you can stop worrying. I told you before, I’ve had elbows to the face and even basketballs, your cushioned fist was nothing compared to those.”

“You know I'm a worrier, Teej.” He said with a huff.

I chuckled, “Yeah, I know. DO you want to do one last examination before we go to sleep? That way, you can put your mind in a less worried state.”

“I appreciate that you know that I would still worry about you, but just a little less.” Cyrus said with a brightness that sounded like he was smiling as he spoke.

I had learned quickly in our friendship turned, whatever this was now, that Cyrus always worried about the people he cared about, even when people were telling him not to. The perfect example of this was when we had hung out, and Reed had brought a gun and Cyrus had left me with them. I had had no idea that Reed was going to bring that, but unfortunately, I had been in a different place, and I didn’t want my friends to think I was lame. Looking back now, I was lucky that nothing really awful had happened. Even after all of that, Cyrus had still worried about me even when his friends rightfully told him not to acknowledge me.

I heard Cyrus rustling on the floor next to me as he got off of his air mattress. He crawled onto my bed and was sitting next to me with his legs crisscrossed. I sat up and turned on the little lamp next to my bed and turned back to Cyrus. He was wearing a concerned look. I smiled at him, and his face softened a little.

I threw my sheets back and scooted closer to him with my legs mirroring his. Our knees were touching as he took the sides of my head in his small hands and began staring into my eyes with his gorgeous dark brown eyes.

“You have the prettiest eyes,” I said the words before I registered them in my head.

Cyrus stifled a laugh, “Comments like that make me worry even more about you!” He rubbed his thumb along my cheekbone, which made me wince. Cyrus’ face changed back to worry as he said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you!”

“Cy! Stop, I’m fine. I’m just a little sore, that’s all.”

He pursed his lips and pulled my head down to his shoulder and hugged me to his shoulder, “I feel so bad, I never ever want to hurt you, TJ.”

Being against him like this made my stomach do flips, I could smell the fruity shampoo on him, and it made me feel safe, “I know you didn’t do it on purpose, it was my stupid allergy’s fault.”

Cyrus chuckled and pulled my face back up to look into my eyes again, “You know, you have really pretty eyes too.” The corner of his mouth quirked up.

My eyes finally left his and drifted to his lips. It took everything in me to not tilt my head down and close the small space between us and finally feel what kissing Cyrus Goodman felt like. Suddenly Cyrus was biting his lip, which made me look back up at his eyes, which surprisingly were looking at my lips too. For some reason, it still shocked me when I remembered that Cyrus liked me back.

“I think you’re beautiful,” Cyrus said, looking back up into my eyes.

I felt the heat rise in my cheeks, “I really think that you are too.” My bravery was astounding me; maybe I did have a concussion.

Cyrus began to lean in slightly, so I followed suit. We were only inches away from having our first kiss when the front door slamming shut downstairs made both of us jump apart.

Cyrus cleared his throat, “We should go to sleep; it’s getting late.”

Awkwardness filled the air around us, “You think I’m all good? No head injuries?”

Cyrus chuckled nervously as he slid off of my bed back down to his, “I think you’re all good.”

I felt disappointment settle in my chest; I was so looking forward to kissing Cyrus. Sighing, I turned off my lamp and said, “Night, Underdog.”

“Night, Teej,” Cyrus said.

The way he said those words made it seem like he had more to add. I laid back down on my bed and let out a huff. Maybe sometime soon we could actually get to kiss each other, just not tonight. I rolled onto my side and began to drift off to sleep. I couldn’t tell if I was dreaming or not, but I could’ve sworn that I had heard Cyrus say, “Love you, Teej.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it took me so long to update! I'm gonna try and get another chapter done by tomorrow! I hope you like this! I honestly love late-night conversations and quiet moments. Also, I hope this satisfies you for a little while, Halleluja99 lol


	5. Sunday, June 9th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TJ and Cyrus confess

Cyrus hadn’t said anything about the almost-kiss that happened the night before, so I didn’t bring it up either. He had seemed nervous when we woke up, though. I hated seeing him uncomfortable, so I did all I could to act as if everything was fine.

Today we were going on a bike ride, Cyrus had told me about his last time bike riding and how horribly most of the day had gone and how he, Buffy, and Andi had all stolen some random kids bikes for a few seconds before they’d realized the mistake they had made. It was a hilarious story, the overall them from the story that I had picked up on was that Cyrus was not a fan of long bike rides. To make sure that he only had a good time today, I went ahead and rented a tandem bike for us, so he didn’t have to do too much work. I packed us some sandwiches and snacks for a picnic at the park that was our end goal for the day.

“I don’t know how you expect me to get on to that,” Cyrus said, sounding defeated.

I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, “Don’t worry, I’m getting on first; that way, I can hold it steady for you.”

Cyrus looked down at our hands, then back up to me and said, “Okay, as long as you think I can do it.”

I flashed him a bright smile, “I really do think you can do it!”

His worry melted from his face as he returned an adorable grin to me. Just like I had planned, I got on first and kept it steady as Cyrus climbed on the back end. I could feel him trying to balance, which made me chuckle.  
After a few deep relaxing breaths, I told Cyrus to put his feet on the pedals, and I got us started on our path. The first twenty minutes were quiet, and it worried me.

I finally decide to break the silence, “How are you doing back there?”

“Actually, I’m doing great!” Cyrus said with excitement in his voice.

“Good!” I yelled back to him.

“Theo?” He asked, the excitement vacant from his voice now.

I bit my lip; this was the talk that I was dreading, “Yeah?” I answered.

“Are you mad at me?” he asked, voice almost breaking.

“Why would I be mad at you, Underdog?” I asked perplexed.

“I just feel bad about last night,” he took a deep breath, “I’m sorry I chickened out. I’m really sorry that I’ve been avoiding talking about us too. I, just, really like what we have. I like how easy it is with us; I like holding your hand when I want and being able to talk with you about anything. I don’t want to ruin anything.”

That sort of hurt to hear, “How would us kissing, ruin what we have?” I asked.

“I don’t know; I feel like that would officially make us more than friends. That scares me, because…” he trailed off.

I could see the park coming into view ahead of us as I asked, “Because, what?”

“Because I love what we have, I love our friendship; I love spending time with you. I don’t want something to happen that could ruin this.” He sounded like he was pleading with me.  
I steered us over to a grassy area and hopped off the bike and turned to look Cyrus in the eyes, “I love everything we have too, I love our silly conversations, I love helping you do things you wouldn’t normally do, I love playing the piano for you, I love making you laugh, I love making you smile, I love spending time with you, I love you.” My hand went to my mouth. The words slipped out before I could stop them. Did I even know what love was? I mean, whatever I felt for Cyrus was more than like.

Cyrus’ eyes went wide with my words, then softened, “Teej…”

“I’m sorry, that was a lot. You don’t have to say anything back.” I was panicking now, “Love is crazy, we’re only fourteen, we don’t know what that is, do we?”

“I love you too, TJ,” Cyrus said with a soft smile.

“You do?” I asked.

Cyrus nodded and hopped off of the bike. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he said, “I love you so much.”

I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tight, “Does this mean that we can be official boyfriends now?”

He laughed, “I feel like we did this out of order, but, yeah, we are officially boyfriends now.”

“Then my first thing to do as your boyfriend is to feed you some lunch.” I laughed and pulled my backpack off and pulled out a blanket.

Cyrus took the blanket and spread it out on the grass. He sat down on it with his legs out and leaning back on his hands. He was so cute that it took everything in me to not drop everything I was doing and go and snuggle up against him. I smiled and pulled out our sandwiches. I sat down next to him, and we started eating.

A thought crossed my mind, “Did you tell me that you loved me last night before we fell asleep?”

Cyrus began choking on his sandwich, so I started patting his back through tears, he said, “I thought you were already asleep!”

His face was bright red as he took a drink of some water, “Well, I wasn’t. But I couldn’t tell if I was dreaming or not.” I smiled at him.

He wiped the tears from his face and started laughing, “I’m glad that you heard that then. Was that what prompted you to say it today?”

“No, I just really wanted to kiss you.” I laughed, so did Cyrus.

“You have a one-track mind, don’t you?” He asked.

I shrugged, “You look like you have really kissable lips! I’m sorry that you’re really distractingly cute. I know you can’t help it.”

Cyrus’ cheeks were bright red, which made the butterflies go crazy in my stomach. I took a bite of my sandwich as Cyrus said, “I think that your lips look very kissable.”

I shot him a mischievous smile, and scooted closer to him, “Want to see if we really do have kissable lips?”

Cyrus gave me an unamused look, “No!”

I was caught off guard, “Why? We’re boyfriends now!”

Cyrus laughed and placed his free hand on mine, “I’m not kissing you while I have sandwich breath, that’s gross. Especially not if it’s going to be our first kiss.”

I laughed, he made a good point, turkey breath didn’t sound like a great time. We changed the topic after that and spent a few hours talking and playing card games with the deck I had brought with me. Cyrus got surprisingly competitive when we played go-fish. His determination to beat me was adorable. Every once in a while, he would randomly reach out his hand to grab mine, pick it up, kiss it, then go back to playing the game as if nothing had happened. It was really adorable and made my stomach do little flips. It was almost five when I decided that we should probably start heading back to my house. The ride home was filled with a lot more chatter than the ride to the park.

When we got back to my house, we were shocked to see Andi leaving the house and getting on to her scooter. She gave Cyrus and I a little wave as she drove by us.

We put the bike in the garage and went inside to see Amber sitting on the couch watching TV.

“Why was Andi here?” Cyrus asked her.

“Hello to you too, Cyrus,” She said back.

“Sorry. Hey, Amber. Why was Andi here?” He tried again.

“I was helping her out.” She said simply.

“That’s all you have to say?” I asked, feeling annoyance creep into my tone.

“If you want more, ask-”

Cyrus cut her off, “I know, I know, ask Andi. You said that before.”

“You two look… happy. What did you get up to today?” Amber asked the both of us.

I thought about how to answer her, then decided on putting my arm around Cyrus’ shoulders and said, “We’re official!”

Her mouth fell open, “My baby brother finally went and got himself a boyfriend? I’m so proud of you!” She paused and looked at Cyrus, “Cyrus, you could do a lot better. Congrats I guess.” She pursed her lips, trying to hold back her laughter.

I picked up one of the decorative pillows and threw it at her head, “Don’t be mean to my boyfriend!”

Amber threw her head back with laughter, “You know I’m kidding, sort of.”

Cyrus laughed and shook his head, “Thanks, Ambrosia, I’m glad you approve, sort of.”

“Cyrus Goodman, you are never allowed to use that name!” Amber looked wild suddenly, and I took Cyrus by his wrist as we ran back to my bedroom. Amber leaped over the couch to chase after us. I slammed the door shut and looked at Cyrus, who was laughing hysterically.

“I will kill you for telling him that, Thelonious!” Amber screamed at us through the door.

I shook my head as I laughed. Cyrus and I stood there laughing for a few moments before we locked eyes. We both had tears running down our cheeks from how hard we were laughing. I took a step toward Cyrus, and he kept his eyes on mine, still chuckling.

“Can I kiss you now?” I asked. Seeing him laugh like that made my urge to kiss him shoot through the roof.

He reached his hand out, and I took it, “I think that sounds nice.” He pulled me in close.

My heart began to race as we were pressed up against each other, my arms wrapped around his shoulders and his around my chest. I smiled down at him and leaned in; he leaned in as well. My eyes fell shut as I felt his delicate lips meet mine. Cyrus and I were kissing, and my brain sort of short-circuited. I melted into him and just let the moment go on. He fit so well against me, and everything felt right in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a little carried away with this chapter; I hope you like it! I loved writing it! Please leave a comment to let me know how you like it so far!


	6. Monday, June 10th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cyrus and TJ get pedicures!

“Is this water sanitary?” Cyrus asked as he stared into the bowl attached to the massage chair.

“Cy, they couldn’t be in business if there weren’t regulations!” I tried for what felt like the hundredth time this afternoon, to get Cyrus to just enjoy the pedicure.

Cyrus looked at me with a serious face, “That is not true at all! Have you seen dateline? There is always a scandal waiting to happen!”

I rolled my eyes playfully as I retorted, “This place has the highest rating in all of Shadyside!”

Cyrus sighed and slowly lowered himself into the chair, still keeping his feet out of the warm water. “Isn’t there only two nail salons in Shadyside?”

He had a point, but today was all about relaxing, we had spent our last two dates doing physical labor, and now it was time to relax. It was now time to relax with my boyfriend. It felt weird being able to say that; Cyrus Goodman was my boyfriend!

“Will you please just try and relax, Cy?” I said, sticking out my lower lip to emphasize my begging.

Cyrus let out an annoyed huff, “You know I can’t say no to your puppy-dog eyes.” He reluctantly lowered his feet into the water and turned on the massage chair.

“See? Isn’t this nice?” I asked with my eyes closed.

Cyrus let out a nervous groan, “Everything about this makes my skin crawl, but, I love you, and you want me to relax. So, I will try to do that.”

As soon as they began to massage Cyrus’ feet, he was out like a light. I only noticed because all of the employees were giggling and pointing at him. I was going to try to wake him up, but the lady working on his feet hadn’t stopped, and she was making progress. I shrugged and went back to enjoying my pedicure.

As lovely as it was to get pampered I was starting to miss Cyrus’ voice, as I went to wake him up the woman working on his feet asked me what color he wanted on his toes. I was going to tell her that he didn’t want anything, but then I figured there wouldn’t be any harm in getting him some pretty sparkly blue toenails. I pointed to the perfect color, and the lady was off. I also decided to get him the gel polish so it would come off as easily. That may have been a bit too far, but I liked knowing that if he ended up hating it, it would be a challenge to get off.

The man working on my feet brought the color wheel of polish to me, and I went with sparkly purple. It looked nice with the flip-flops I had worn to the shop. Cyrus let a quiet snore escape his lips, which made the woman doing his nails chuckle. I pulled my phone out and snapped a photo of him and then got a selfie with him too. I sent the pic to Amber, who responded very quickly.

**The angry one:** How on earth did he fall asleep while people were touching his feet?

**TJ:** I have no idea, but isn’t he so cute?

**The angry one:** Your happiness is disgusting.

**The angry one:** Tell Cyrus hi for me when he wakes up! Also, let him know that I love his color choice ;)

TJ chuckled at his sister’s response. Even though it was weird that she had been friends with Cyrus before he and I had met. Before I had helped him with the muffin, she had told me briefly about a boy with psychologists as parents who had helped her be okay with seeing a shrink. At the time, I had no idea who he was, but I was glad that someone was helping my sister. As much as amber and I bantered with each other, we would kill someone that hurt our sibling.

“What happened to my toes?” Cyrus confused voice rose above the chatter and music in the salon.

“I picked out a color for you since you decided to sleep through the entire process.” I beamed at him, then added, “Also, amber says hi and that she likes your color choice!”

He glared at me, fighting a smile, “Luckily, I love blue and sparkles, so you’re off the hook this time, Theo.” He pulled his foot up to his chest and began examining his toes. “Tell Amber I say hi back!”

I laughed at him and nodded, “When I said that you should relax, I meant that you should take a deep breath and go with the flow, not fall asleep.”

Cyrus dropped his feet and looked at me with nervous eyes, “I’m sorry! You probably wanted to talk, didn’t you? Please don’t be mad at me!”

“Oh my god, Cyrus, I'm not mad at you! I'm glad you were able to enjoy yourself.” I smiled at him, “Plus now we have matching sparkles!” I held my foot out to him and waved it in front of his face.

Grabbing my ankle, he held my foot out in front of him, “I never would’ve guessed that you were a purple kind of guy.” He said, sounding impressed.

I wiggled my toes, and he dropped my foot, “I have layers.”

“I’m really starting to believe that now.” He said, looking at me with narrowed eyes.

I laughed and swung my legs over to my shoes and slid them on, Cyrus did the same.

“Want to go to The Spoon?” Cyrus asked as we left the salon.

“Sure! Milkshakes always sound good.” I replied.

As we walked into the spoon, my eyes immediately found Buffy’s curly hair sitting in a booth. She had looked up as the bell on the door had gone off and she waved us over.

“Nice color choices you two! I never would’ve guessed that you were a purple kind of guy, Kippen.” She said as we walked over to her.

“That’s what I said too!” Cyrus exclaimed.

“Can we join you?” I asked, not really knowing if she would be okay with that. We had made up, but I still didn’t know how much she wanted to be around me when basketball wasn’t involved.

“Of course! Marty will be right back! He had to go to the bathroom.” She said.

“Oh! How have you and Marty been this summer?” Cyrus asked as he popped one of Buffy’s baby tater’s in his mouth.

“Pretty good, we’ve been training together for a marathon that’s happening at the end of the summer! How about you two? How’s the whole roommate situation going?” she asked, pointing to me while making wide eyes at Cyrus.

“It’s been great!” I said.

Cyrus grabbed my hand from my lap and gave me a look. I could tell that he was seeing if it would be okay with me if he told Buffy about us. I gave him a smile and a nod.

Cyrus lifted our interlocked hands and plopped them on the table, “It’s been the best summer of my life!” He said excitedly.

Buffy looked from our hands to each of our faces, then said, “Is it finally official?”

Cyrus nodded enthusiastically, “Yes! TJ and I are a couple now.” Cyrus hunched over a little and added in a whisper, “TJ Kippen is my boyfriend!” they both let out excited squeals.

I chuckled and shook my head, “You two are ridiculous.”

“Yo!” Marty said as he walked up to the table, “You two are finally a thing?” He asked, sliding into the booth next to Buffy.

“Yes!” Cyrus said before I could even nod my head. He was so cute when he got excited.

“Well,” Buffy started, “Marty and I were planning on crashing a party that Jonah was having with his frisbee team this Wednesday. Want to help?”

Cyrus looked at me with hopeful eyes, “I mean it is on the list,” I said.

Cyrus looked away from me and back at Buffy, “We’re in!” He thought about it for a second, “This will be our first high school party, won’t it?”

Buffy and Marty both thought about that for a second; Buffy finally said, “You’re right! This will be so much fun!”

Cyrus and Buffy kept on chatting while Marty and I listened and added our two cents every once in a while. Amber was working today and dropped off a strawberry milkshake with two straws, for Cyrus and me. He ended up taking a photo of it and then insisted that Buffy needed to take a picture of us drinking out of it at the same time. He had a point the picture turned out cute. After an hour or so, Buffy and Marty left, leaving Cyrus and me alone.

“Today was a lot of fun; I’m glad I got to see Buffy!” Cyrus said as he drew circles on the back of my hand with his thumb.

“I'm glad you got to see her too,” I said.

“Hey, boyfriend of my brother!” Amber said, smiling at Cyrus as she walked up to our booth, “Hey, nerd.” She said to me in a flat tone.

“Why hello, Ms. Ambr-” Cyrus started to say but got cut off by a death glare from Amber. “Sorry. Hello, Ms. Kippen.”

She smiled, “That’s better. Do you guys want anything else?”

“I think we’re all good, Ambs,” I said.

“Alright, can you tell mom to save me a plate from dinner? I’m going to be a little late tonight.”

I narrowed my eyes, “Meeting up with Andi again?”

“Oh, look at the time!” She said, glancing at her empty wrist.

“You don’t wear watches, sister,” I said.

“Well, you wear stupid, camo hoodies, but you don’t see me making comments about that, now do you?” She said as she turned to walk away.

“Hey!” Cyrus piped up, “I like his hoodies!” he called after her.

“It’s a lost cause, Underdog.” I said as I patted his hand, “She’s not going to tell us anything. Maybe we should just break down and ask Andi.”

Cyrus bit his lip, thinking, “Maybe you’re right. We should investigate tomorrow.”

I smiled at him and kissed his cheek, blush erupted across his face, “Sounds like a plan,” I said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I got a writing bug or something, I hope you liked this chapter, there wasn't too much fluff, but I thought it was still cute! Let me know in the comments what you thought! And yes Cyrus' first line was a Tarzan reference lol


	7. Tuesday, June 11th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TJ Teaches Cyrus a familiar song on the piano.

I woke up early the next morning and snuck downstairs so I could practice the piano. Cyrus and I had been having such a good time with each other that I had forgotten to keep up with it. It was about eight in the morning and my mom and dad had already both left for work. As I sat on the cool piano bench and set my bare feet against the pedals, a tension I hadn’t realized was there, released in my chest. My fingers began to find their way along the keys as I put together a simple melody. Cyrus’ song that he sang on the swings came to mind, and I wove those notes into what I had already started. As silly as his cute song was, it did sound great with some backing chords mixed in. As I sat there with my eyes closed and my fingers dancing across the keys, I added in the little tune about the slide as well. I started to chuckle at the memory of meeting Cyrus as I played. The memory filled me with a warmth that I let envelope me.

“Why do I know this song? I can't quite place it, though.” Cyrus’ sleepy voice came from behind me.

I kept playing the tune and turned to look at him, “You taught it to me!”

He rubbed his eyes and asked, “I did?”

To help jog his memory, I played only the tune without any of the embellishments.

Cyrus’ eyebrows knit together as he listened and then his lips started moving, “Drag your feet, you go slow. The more you drag, the less you go! That’s the song I was singing when you first really talked with me!” His face was lit up with fondness.

Slowly he walked over to me and sat down on the bench, “That was when I told you about my stuff.” I said, resting my head on his shoulder.

“I was so nervous when you came up to me,” Cyrus said as he took my hand in his.

“I could see that you were, but when I asked what you sang on the slides and actually answered me, I thought you were the most amazing person I had ever met,” I said squeezing his hand.

Cyrus chuckled, which made his shoulders bounce my head a little, “Why? Why did my silly songs make you think that?”

I lifted my head and looked into his dark eyes, “Because you weren’t afraid to be you. You answered without missing a beat and weren’t even scared of what someone would think.” I paused, bumped my nose against his and continued, “At that point in time, I was so ashamed of who I was, it was refreshing to talk with someone who seemed to embrace everything about themselves fully.”

Cyrus playfully rolled his eyes, “I think you remember that day incorrectly if I was at the swings that meant that I was feeling bad about something. That day, in particular, I had been failing miserably at making a movie for Dr. Metcalf. I was also feeling ashamed of myself for not being good enough to do that simple task.”

I bit my lip thinking, “Didn’t you end up making that movie with Jonah? That was amazing!”

Cyrus scoffed, “Only because you came to that park and helped me feel a little better about myself, it helped to know that someone as confident as you had their bad days too. You helped me remember that wasn't alone.”

It was amazing that this entire moment was happening in my living room. The idea that the boy who I had helped get a muffin, over a year ago, would now be sitting in his pajamas in my living room with his nose pressed up against mine; was astonishing. I tilted my head slightly, and our lips met. Cyrus smiled against my lips, which made me do the same to him. He chuckled, “What?” I asked.

“It’s so funny that I ever thought of you as scary-basketball-guy. You are the softest, mushiest, fluffiest, guy, I have ever met.” Cyrus pressed his forehead against mine, and we stared into each other’s eyes.

A knot formed in my stomach, “I was scary, and mean.” I said.

“And you apologized for that, and have made up for it.” Cyrus’ eyes showed compassion in that moment, “Otherwise I wouldn’t be so inclined to do this,” he lifted his forehead from mine and kissed both of my cheeks, one after the other and then finished with my lips, “To you.”

Heat burned in my cheeks and Cyrus’ cheeks flushed too. “You are the cutest person I’ve ever met,” I said.

“Clearly you’ve never been introduced to yourself.” Cyrus sat back and took both of my wrists in each of his hands and put my hands together and made an attempt at handshake motion, “TJ, meet TJ, the cutest person in the world!” Cyrus giggled, and I wriggled my wrists from his hands. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him into a hug and squeezed him against my side. He nestled his head against my neck and sighed.

“Can I teach you something on the piano?” I asked him as I kissed the top of his head.

“I would love that, Teej!” he said, sitting up and placing his hands on the keys.

I chuckled at his enthusiasm and placed my hands on top of his. Grabbing his smaller hands gently, I moved them to the starting position for his swing song. I released his hands and he let out a huff of disapproval, “I wanted to you hold my hands while I played!”

I let out a little huff of my own and chuckled, “Watch how my fingers move, and you copy them.” I plunked out the tune one note at a time and waited for Cyrus to play the notes before I moved to the next. Then I looped the tune and kept going until it became natural for Cyrus to play. “Okay, you just keep on playing that. Don’t stop.” I said.

Cyrus nodded with a look of concentration. I smiled at him and began paying the chords had been earlier. Cyrus’ song, now fully fleshed out, sounded like a masterpiece written by a classical pianist. Laughing a little Cyrus began to sing the words as he continued to play the notes. After about twenty minutes straight of playing, I finally let the music stop.

Cyrus gave me a look that seemed to say everything and anything. “Thank you, Theo. That was amazing.” His eyes got a watery sheen to them and rubbed them with the heels of his hands.

“Anytime, Underdog,” I said back.

I made Cyrus, and I breakfast, and we decided that we could cross, “Teach Cyrus piano” off the list of date ideas. Curiosity was starting to get the best of both of us, so we decided to go to Andi’s house to see if she was available.

Andi’s apartment was charming, I could see through the windows that there were big scarves hung around the house and pictures of Andi with her parents all over. Cyrus knocked a few times on the door and stood next to me.

“Cyrus! And…” Andi’s mom, I think her name was Bex, was looking at me waiting for me to fill in the blank.

“TJ, Mrs. Mack,” I said as I offered a hand to her.

“Yuck, Mrs. Mack is my mother, please just call me Bex.” She said with a disgusted look. “Come in, boys! Andi is just finishing getting ready.” She led us into the small living room, and Cyrus and I took a seat on the couch.

“Before Andi comes out, do you have any idea what she’s been up to this summer so far?” Cyrus asked Bex.

She narrowed her eyes at him, “Why? Should I be worried? Or is this a shakedown? Are you two doing investigative work?”

I glanced at Cyrus whose eyes were as big as saucers, I chimed in, “We were just checking to see if she would be too busy to hang out.” I glanced at Cyrus, who took a breath of relief.

“If you say so, PJ,” Bex said.

“TJ.” I corrected her.

She laughed, “Sorry. If you say so, TJ.”

Andi’s voice suddenly came up from the back of the house, “Mom? Do you know where I put my…” She came around the corner and wearing a shocked look.

I waved awkwardly at her, and Cyrus followed suit, “Hey Andi!” Cyrus said, sounding way too excited. I almost smacked myself on the forehead, Cyrus was terrible at playing it chill.

She gave us a confused look, “Hey guys… You do know I have a cell phone, right?”

Cyrus began making sputtering sounds and waving his hands around, “Pfft, yeah, we know that!” He motioned to me and then back at himself.

I had never felt so uncomfortable in my life, and I had once been had my towel pulled off of me in the boy’s locker room. To try and ease the unbelievably awkward tension in the room, I asked, “Did you want to go to the spoon with us today?”

She blinked slowly at Cyrus and then narrowed her eyes at me, “I… can’t today, I’m working on my portfolio for SAVA.” She shrugged and glanced at Bex with wide eyes.

“Yes! SAVA portfolio! Andi is working on that today!” Bex said anxiously.

This entire group was terrible at lying; it was quite comical to watch in all honesty. I decided to come out and ask the burning question, though, “Why have you been spending so much time with amber all of a sudden? My sister seems to be in a much better mood recently, are you the cause of that?”

Andi’s eyes almost popped out of her head, “She and I have just been…” She glanced around the room and then her eyes fell back on mine, “Modeling, she’s been modeling for me, you know how much she loves Instapic, I figured that she would be down for some real-life modeling experience!”

As much as that was true, Amber was obsessed with Instapic; it still didn’t explain the secretiveness. But I wasn’t Andi’s friend, Cyrus was, so I wasn’t going to broach the subject anymore.  
Apparently, Cyrus wasn’t buying it either because he finally chimed back in, “You do more abstract art though, when did you start doing photography? Wasn’t that more up your alley?” He nodded at Bex, who glanced nervously between the three of us.

“Who wants pizza?” Bex randomly exclaimed.

I looked at my phone; it was ten-thirty in the morning. Then I looked at Andi, who was rolling her eyes at her mother. Cyrus and Andi shared a look, and he said, “Well, whenever you want to show us your photography,” He said the word with extra emphasis, “You know we won’t judge.”

I was officially lost, these two had some sort of conversation with only looks, and I missed the whole thing. Cyrus stood up and reached his hand out for me to take; he looked a little exasperated. I took it and stood up too. We walked over to the door and left.

Cyrus called over his shoulder, “See you later, Andi!”

I couldn’t hear a response and Cyrus didn’t seem to care much anyway.

“That was strange.” I finally said after a few silent minutes of walking. I looked at Cyrus, who was wearing a face of disappointment, “Hey, are you okay, Cy?”

He looked up at me through his eyelashes, “We said that we wouldn’t let Andi going away to SAVA get in the way of our friendship, but now she’s starting to keep secrets from me.”

“Friends don’t have to tell each other everything,” I tried.

“That’s not how it works for the ‘Good Hair Crew!’” He said.

That name still made me laugh, “Well, did you tell them everything?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” He asked, looking at me in disbelief.

I sighed, “Did you come out to them as soon as you realized that you were gay?” I asked, truly curious.

“Well, no. But this is different than that, coming out is more terrifying than whatever it is that she’s really up to.”

I shrugged, not really wanting to assume anything about someone I had only met a handful of times. Although, something in the back of my head was telling me that maybe this was the same thing as Cyrus coming out. I didn’t feel like stirring the pot more so I changed the subject and we went back to my house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like the story so far! Its been really fun to just go with the flow and write a ton of fluff! Please leave a Kudo and a comment if you want!


	8. Wednesday, June 12th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cyrus and TJ crash a party!

“I feel like a rebel without a cause!” Cyrus said for the fourth time as we walked up the steps to Jonah’s apartment’s clubhouse.

I chuckled, so did Buffy as she said, “Calm down, Cyrus. It’s just an ultimate frisbee party; it’s not that amazing.” She squeezed his shoulder.

“It’s not just a frisbee party, Buffy! It’s a high school frisbee party!” He looked around at all of us, then continued with a groan, “This is our first initiation into high school guys!” Cyrus grabbed my hand and pulled me into the building.

Buffy shot me a look, then followed behind me and said, “I can’t believe you’re dating this easily-excited goofball!”

“Hey!” I said defensively, “He’s my easily-excited goofball!”

Cyrus turned and gave me a big grin, then continued pulling me through the crowd of kids until we reached the punch bowl.

“Where is resting happy face, anyway?” I asked.

Cyrus’ brow furrowed as he scanned the room. I reached my hand up to his cheek and kissed him right in between his eyebrows. “You’re ridiculous, he said, continuing his search.”

“What? I’ve always wanted to see if me kissing your scrunched-up eyebrows would make them relax.” I said confidently.

His face softened into a sweet pursed-lipped smile, “You are so cute!” he kissed my cheek and then said, “Aha! There is the human sunbeam!”

I turned to see Jonah with Buffy and Marty, laughing about something and then turned back to Cyrus, “So are we going to go and join them?”

He nodded and we walked over to the group with me close on his trail. We all chatted for a few minutes, Jonah was surprised that we were all there but was happy nonetheless. Of course he was, he was Jonah Beck. After an hour of mingling and having Cyrus introduce me to all of the players on the team, we ended up back talking with Jonah.

“I’m surprised Amber and Andi didn’t come with you guys too.” Jonah said with a trace of a frown.

Cyrus and I both looked at each other with confused faces, I spoke first, “Why would they both come with us?”

Jonah’s face went slack, as he said, “Well, Amber is your sister,” He pointed at me, “And Andi is your best friend,” he pointed at Cyrus, “I figured one of you guys would’ve talked with them.”

He had a point, but the way he had said their names together made me think that he wasn’t telling us something, “Huh, yeah, we haven’t seen much of either of those two in the last week, actually.” I said.

Cyrus narrowed his eyes at Jonah, “You know something, don’t you?”

Jonah quirked an eyebrow at Cyrus, “I don’t know what you’re talking about Cy-guy.”

“Who wants to play paranoia?” a kid called out from behind us.

I wasn’t usually one for party games, but right now, it seemed like the perfect way to get some answers from Jonah, “I do!” I yelled over my shoulder while raising my hand.

Jonah’s eyes went wide, then went back to normal, “Good idea, Alicia!” He called out.

Cyrus and I made sure to sit on either side of Jonah during the game so we could ask him our questions. It took a while to get to Cyrus because so many people were at the party, but when it was finally his turn he leaned over to Jonah and whispered something that made Jonah’s face flash a wide array of emotions.

“Yes.” He said, then gulped.

Cyrus tossed the coin into the air; it landed on heads, which meant that he now had to say the question that was asked of him.

“Um, Cyrus asked me if I knew what was going on between Andi and Amber.” He said with a nervous smile.

Buffy shot me a look and then one to Cyrus, who nodded. Apparently, she was asking a question, but I didn’t speak ‘Good Hair Crew’ yet, so I missed it.

At first, that answer got me excited to ask mine, but then I thought about it. If my suspicions were correct, I didn’t want to make Jonah lie in this game or make him possibly out my sister and Andi.

It was Jonah’s turn, he leaned over to me and asked, “Who would you kiss in this room?”

“Easy,” I started, “Cyrus.” He flipped the coin, and it landed on heads. “He asked who I would kiss in this room.” That got a chorus of cooing from everyone. I rolled my eyes. Cyrus gave me a shy smile as he put his face in his hands.

I didn’t know what to ask Jonah anymore; I didn’t want to push him any further on the Amber and Andi topic. I did decide to find something out that would potentially be a funny story to tell my sister. I leaned into Jonah, “Who was a better girlfriend? Amber or Andi?”

The look on his face was priceless; he looked so flustered that I almost burst out laughing. Finally, he swallowed and said, “Andi, don’t tell amber I said that, though.” He looked at me with puppy-dog eyes.

I took the coin and flipped it, tails. No one got to know the question. But it was funny to know that Andi beat my sister in the girlfriend department.

Cyrus’ nervous face pulled me out of my thoughts as he picked up his phone. Mine buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out.

**Cy <3:** _What did you ask?????_

**TJ: ** _I can’t tell you that! Paranoia rules and all._

**Cy <3: ** _Oh brother, we both know this game is dumb and pointless!_

**TJ: ** _Wow, you want me to break the sacred rules of paranoia for you?_

**Cy <3: ** _Teej >:( _

The little angry face made me laugh, and I looked up at Cyrus to find him making the same face as he stared at me. That made me laugh even more.

**TJ: ** _Fine, I asked him who was a better girlfriend between Andi and Amber._

**Cy <3: ** _Theo! You had one job!_

**TJ: ** _Cy, if this were the other way around, would you want buffy telling a group of random strangers your secrets? I think we need to wait for Amber and Andi to tell us what’s going on._

I heard Cyrus give a little huff of defeat, and I glanced up at him to see his face relaxing.

**Cy <3: ** _You’re right, I’ll stop prying. I just hate that she isn’t telling us what’s going on. I miss hanging out with her, and it sucks that she does have free time, she just only wants to see Amber._

I heard Cyrus gasp, and I looked up at him, our eyes met for a second, and I saw concern flash in them. Then he went back to typing.

**Cy <3: ** _You don’t think…_

**TJ: ** _I actually do think…_

“Okay, looks like everyone got a turn, but it’s getting late. I think we should clean up and head out for the night!” Jonah said as he stood up.

Cyrus and I got up too and started picking up plastic cups in silence. After most of the party had cleared out, he finally spoke up, “I wonder if that’s why she doesn’t want to talk about it.” He looked at me with hurt in his eyes, “Why wouldn’t she tell _me, _though? If anything, I should be one of the people that would get it the most!”

I sighed, “It’s hard to tell people that have known you a long time, in my opinion.” I paused and added, “We also don’t know if that’s what’s actually going on.”

Cyrus nodded as he placed the last plastic cup into a garbage bag, “All of that is true.” He let out a sigh, “I hope she feels comfortable enough to tell me soon, though. _If _that’s what going on.”

“Either way, I get to tell Amber that Jonah thinks that Andi was a better girlfriend than her. I can’t wait to watch her face get all red.” I laughed as I wrapped my arm around Cyrus’ waist.

He leaned up against me as we walked out of the club house, “He’s going to have to go into witness protection when she finds out.” Cyrus chuckled.

I stopped us and turned to Cyrus, “Thanks for the fun night, it was cool meeting all of your friends.”

He took both of my hands in his small ones, “Thanks for letting me ramble on about everyone with you, and for not accidentally outing Amber and Andi on my behalf.”

I smiled at him and brushed my nose against his, he giggled, and I gave him a quick peck on the lips, “Anytime, Underdog.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave a Kudo if you liked this chapter! Also, leave a comment if you're still enjoying this!


	9. Thursday, June 13th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TJ plays a song for Cyrus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You need to listen to this song, it's actually such a beautiful piece of art! https://youtu.be/dIFed5a9jBQ

“I realize how childish this sounds, but I swear it will be fun!” I said, mostly trying to convince myself.

“Which website gave you this idea?” Cyrus asked.

I thought for a second, “I can’t remember, but honestly, when was the last time you played hide and go seek and had a bad time?”

“Easy,” Cyrus said abruptly, “Third grade: Buffy decided that part of the seeker's job was to sneak up on the person who was hiding, and scare them.” He looked at me with a bored face, “That was the first time I found out I had asthma.”

I stifled a laugh, Cyrus gave me a dirty look, “What? It’s kind of a funny story.” I said defensively. “I’ll let you be the seeker first, that way you can sneak up on me!”

Cyrus rolled his eyes, “No one likes being the seeker, Teej. Why do you think Buffy decided to make that horrifying decision?”

I started to laugh at his utter disdain of the game, “Still, you go first with seeking, that way, you can look around the house and get some ideas for hiding spots!”

Cyrus took a deep breath, “I only agree to this because I love you.”

I smiled at him, “Then, that’s enough for me! I love you too!”

“I’m counting to forty,” he smirked at me, “That way, you can’t get too creative.”

I smiled at him as he covered his eyes and began counting. My first thought was to hide in the coat closet, but that also felt a little too on the nose. After a few seconds of blind panic, I decided to run upstairs to my bedroom and hide under my bed. As I slid underneath, I pulled Cyrus’ mattress over to cover me up. I left a small opening so I could see out into the room so I would know when Cyrus was getting close.

“Ready or not, here I come!” I heard him yell downstairs.

I figured I had a few minutes to myself so I pulled out my phone.

**TJ: **What are you getting up to today?

**The angry one: **Nunya

**TJ: **What is nunya? Is that some sort of new dance?

**The angry one: **Nunya business

I rolled my eyes at my phone and tucked it away, of course, Amber wasn’t going to tell me what she was up to, she was probably with Andi.

A few minutes had gone by, and I could hear Cyrus downstairs calling my name every once in a while. Every time he did it, he sounded a little more desperate. I decided to give him a break, and I kicked my foot against the floor.

“Aha!” I heard him yell, which was then followed by thundering footsteps up the stairs.

His socked feet passed by my room and headed towards Amber’s, which led to more of his desperate calls for me. The way he was saying my name was making my heart melt. Finally, he had narrowed his search to my room and was pacing around. I pulled some old clothes up around my face to try and cover myself up.

Padding over to the closet, I watched the door open and heard the hangers move as he looked in. A sudden slapping sound made me start. I glanced through the opening that I had left and saw an old journal of mine on the floor. Cyrus knelt down and picked it up; I could hear him flipping through the pages.

Cyrus let out a little gasp, “This is amazing,” he said quietly to himself.

That got my curiosity piqued, so I scooted forward to the edge of the bed to try and get a better look at the journal he had.

Just as I started moving, Cyrus rushed over to the bed and dropped down to his hands and knees, “Found you!”

His quick movements startled me, “Hey, I thought you said you weren’t going to be scaring me.” I pulled myself out from under the bed as Cyrus kissed my face all over.

“I didn’t mean to, but this is the sweetest poem I’ve ever read; does it have a name?” He asked, holding the journal out to me.

I was confused because I had never written a poem before; so, I sat on my floor with my legs crossed and took the journal. As I read over what Cyrus had referred to as a poem, I realized that they were lyrics that I had written around when I had apologized to Buffy.

I smiled at him, “This isn’t a poem; it’s a song I wrote for you.”

“You wrote me a song? Why are you the sweetest person I’ve ever met?” he said as he leaned over and hugged my waist. His head was pressed up against my stomach, so I bent over and kissed the top of his head.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” I said.

He sat up and looked at me with his beautiful eyes, “I think it’s amazing, could you sing it for me?”

“I never got to the music part of it, actually,” I said as I scratched the back of my neck. “We could go down to the piano, and I could maybe throw something together for you.”

Cyrus’ eyes went wide, “Really? That would be so amazing! Now Andi isn’t the only one to have someone write a song for them!”

I looked at him, confused, and asked, “Who wrote a song for Andi?”

“Jonah,” Cyrus said with defeat.

“Well,” I started as I draped my arm over his shoulders, “Now you can tell Andi about the song I wrote for you.”

“If she answers my texts,” He said as we made our way to the piano downstairs.

“She’s ignoring you?” I asked.

“I think she’s a little mad about us showing up the other day. She won’t let me apologize!” He said, sounding frantic.

Squeezing his shoulder, I said, “She’ll come around, you guys have been friends forever, right?”

“Yeah, but I hate the ‘waiting for it’ part.” He said with a pout.

As we walked into the living room, I went to the piano and sat on the bench. I turned and saw Cyrus going to sit on the couch, “Come sit with me; that way, I can be inspired!”

He rolled his eyes, playfully, “I’m still shocked that you were able to string together enough words to make a song about me.”

I scoffed at him and turned back to the piano, laying my fingers against the keys. Cyrus settled down next to me and kissed my cheek. When I had first written the lyrics, I had a tune in my head that was stuck. Then the lyrics started flowing, and I could hear the tune matching it.

I found the first note and hit it. Then I began to sing the lyrics and play the notes as I went.

** _There’s something about you in the moonlight_ **

** _But your eyes go so well in the day_ **

** _You won’t let go of your layers_ **

** _But your power can strip me away_ **

“Woah, that was beautiful.” Cyrus looked at me, and I looked back at him in his beautiful eyes. “Why did I not remember that you can sing.” He smacked his forehead, “We literally sang together at Andi’s party.” He smiled at me, “You have a beautiful voice.”

I felt the heat rise in my cheeks, “Thanks.”

I turned back to the piano and continued.

** _It’s easier for us to hide_ **

** _If you come out, then so will I_ **

** _Promise that I’ll meet you halfway_ **

** _‘Cause I see every part of you_ **

** _And I can tell you see me too_ **

** _By the way that you say my name_ **

** **

I stopped again and looked at Cyrus, “When you didn’t flinch at Andi’s party, those words kept coming to my mind. I had always felt that you could see the real me, and then you said that night that you had always been able to see the good in me. When you said that, that was what gave me the courage to hold your hand that night.”

Cyrus’ eyes got watery as he smiled at me, “You’re going to make me cry, stop it!” He rubbed at his eyes, “This is so pretty, please keep going.”

As I played, I could hear the whole sound better, and I began to add in chords and harmonies as I continued the song.

** _I am an honest man_ **

** _Why can’t you take my hand?_ **

** _I’m not what you planned_ **

** _I am an honest man_ **

** **

** _You’re so afraid of tomorrow_ **

** _So you build your walls up today_ **

** _You won’t believe that you’re ready_ **

** _But I’d never lead you astray_ **

** **

Cyrus wrapped his arms around my arm that was closest to him, I stopped playing again to look at him, “That is still true, I would never lead you astray, I love you so much.” I kissed the top of his hand, then continued again.

** _It’s easier for us to hide_ **

** _If you come out, then so will I_ **

** _Promise that I’ll meet you halfway_ **

** _‘Cause I see every part of you_ **

** _And I can tell you see me too_ **

** _By the way that you say my name_ **

** _I am an honest man_ **

** _Why can’t you take my hand?_ **

** _I’m not what you planned, but I’m a safe place to land_ **

** _I am an honest man_ **

** _See me as I am, show me that I can_ **

** _You make me an honest man_ **

** **

** _I know I played with hearts before_ **

** _Don’t have the heart to play with yours_ **

** _I only swear to do the best I can_ **

** _‘Cause when you put your trust in me_ **

** _How beautiful our love could be_ **

** _If only you would take a chance_ **

** **

Cyrus leaned his head against my shoulder while still holding tight to my arm. Nothing about this moment could make it any better. I could almost feel Cyrus’ love radiating off of him. Even though it was an accident, I was so glad that he found that song, it was perfectly able to express how he made me feel. For the next part, I decided to make it a little softer before I really went for it.

** _I am an honest man_ **

** _Why won’t you take my hand?_ **

** _I’m not what you planned, but I’m a safe place to land_ **

** _I am an honest man_ **

** _I am an honest man_ **

** _Why won’t you hold my hand?_ **

** _I’m not what you planned, but I’m a safe place to land_ **

** _I am an honest man_ **

** _See me as I am, show me that I can_ **

** _You make me an honest man_ **

** **

** _I said all I can, I am who I am_ **

** _And I am an honest man_ **

** **

My shoulder was suddenly hot, and I strained my neck to look down at Cyrus, who was crying.

“Please don’t cry!” I said as I placed my hand on his cheek to wipe a few tears away. I cupped his face and moved his head so he was looking at me.

“I love you so much, TJ Kippen. You weren't what I planned, but you have proven to me that you are a safe place to land. I promise I will always take your hand.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this wasn't too sappy, but I couldn't help myself! Blame Hallelujah99 if you think it's too much, she's ruined me lol


	10. Friday, June 14th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang plays never have I ever, and TJ and Cyrus have their suspicions sort of confirmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what happened at the basketball tournament go and read Hallelujah99's fic called "Guessing Game". I've decided that this fic takes place in that universe because she's awesome and that fic is amazing!

Cyrus was running around the house frantically adjusting anything he could get his hands on. He had picked up the family portrait on the piano about six times, every time only moving it about a millimeter each time.

“Cy, you don’t need to worry. It’s just Buffy and Marty.” I chuckled

He stopped and stared at me with an incredulous look, “And Andi! She hasn’t spoken to me since we went to her house!”

His eyes were wide with panic; it was super cute. “Come here for a second,” I said, motioning for him to come to me on the couch.

Letting out an exasperated huff, he walked over to me and flopped down next to me. He let his head fall on to my shoulder. I reached up and ran my fingers through his soft brown hair, “It’s going to be okay, Amber will be here too and hopefully keep her distracted from any anger she may or may not have toward us.”

Cyrus sat up abruptly and turned to face me, “So, you think she’s mad at us too!”

Getting up quickly, Cyrus began to pace around the room, “Please don’t worry about it, we’re all just going to be friends, hanging out playing party games!” I said, trying to keep Cyrus’ nerves calm-ish.

Just then, the doorbell rang and made Cyrus jump, it was adorable, like one of those cats being scared by a cucumber. His eyes went wide with fear, and he stared at me. I scoffed and got up to answer the door.

I opened the door to see Marty and Buffy giving each other playful shoves, “TEEJ!” Marty almost yelled when he saw me. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me tight.

“Mr. The Party!” I said back.

Buffy rolled her eyes and walked by us over to Cyrus. Marty and I separated, and I closed the door, leading him to the living room. Marty had been to my house a few times in the past, ever since the basketball tournament, he and I had gotten a lot closer. Marty Draped his arm over my shoulder as we entered the living room.

Cyrus gave me a look of confusion. “Since when did you guys become all buddy-buddy?” he asked.

Marty walked up to Cyrus and offered a fist for the brunette to bump, Cyrus did, reluctantly, “It’s a long story involving a basketball tournament and a guessing game.” Marty said with a laugh.

“It involves sports, I think I’ll pass on the details,” Cyrus said, turning to Buffy. They went to the couch and started talking in hushed tones.

Amber suddenly appeared with an evil smirk, “Hey, dweeb, when does this party start?”

“As soon as Andi gets here,” I said.

Her eyes lit up, “Oh? Andi’s coming?”

Cyrus chimed in, “Of course! We tried to get Jonah to come too, but he had plans already.”

“What a shame,” she said deadpanned.

Andi arrived a few minutes later and the pizza half an hour after that. The first couple of hours were spent with everyone making jokes and telling stories about what their first week of summer had been like. Everyone was shocked to hear all of the different things Cyrus had already gotten up to.

“I can’t believe you got Cyrus to go on a bike ride,” Buffy said, laughing.

“Yeah, I thought that our best day 2.0 might have permanently scarred you,” Andi said with a laugh.

“It was a tandem bike, and TJ steered, so it was actually fun!” Cyrus said.

“Blah, blah Cyrus and TJ are a cute couple,” Amber stated, “But I’m bored. Can we play a game?” she asked.

Andi looked at her and smiled; it looked like the way Cyrus looked at me sometimes, “What did you have in mind, Ambs?”

It was weird hearing someone use that nickname with my sister. Buffy clearly thought so too because she furrowed her brow at the pair, then looked at me and quirked an eyebrow. I shrugged at her.

“I don’t know, maybe never have I ever?” She looked around the group for their approval.

Everyone nodded, “So,” I started as I held both of my hands up with palms out toward the group, “The version I like to play is the one where you clap before you put a finger down, that way you can’t be sneaky about putting your fingers down.” I said.

“I like it, make sure everyone knows your secrets,” Marty said, a grin spreading across his face.

“I’ll go first,” I said, “Never have I ever been scared of flamingos,” I smirked at Cyrus.

“No fair!” He exclaimed as he clapped his hands together and put his pinky down.

There was another clap, and we all turned to look at the source; it was Marty, his cheeks flushing, “What? Their beaks look really sharp!” We all burst out laughing.

“Okay, my turn,” Marty said, “Never have I ever started my own basketball team.”

We all looked at Buffy who rolled her eyes as she clapped and put one of her fingers down, “You all can’t keep singling out people! You need to be broader! Like this,” She straightened up, “Never have I ever been to the beach.” Marty, Andi, Cyrus, Me and Amber all clapped. “Why am I the only one who hasn’t been to the beach?” She asked bewildered.

“Never have I ever played the piano,” Andi piped up.

Cyrus, Amber, and I all clapped.

“Never have I ever had root beer,” Amber said. No one clapped, “Really? None of you have ever had it either?”

Everyone shook their heads, “I only either get chocolate milkshakes or water when I go out.” Cyrus shrugged.

“My family is a bunch of health nuts,” Marty said, “No sugary beverages allowed.”

Buffy suddenly gave Marty a mischievous look, “Never have I ever shared a bed with TJ.” She said, sounding proud of herself.

Marty clapped, and so did Amber.

“Wait a second, why has Marty shared a bed with you, but I haven’t?” Cyrus asked me accusingly. “I’m literally living with you!”

“You gotta be brave and make a move, my man,” Marty said as he draped his arm over my shoulders and lay his head on me.

I laughed at Marty’s antics and looked at Cyrus, “Basketball tournament. We shared a hotel room with only one bed.”

“Well that’s the gayest trope I’ve ever heard,” Amber said giggling.

“Gay, bromantic. Potato, tomato.” Marty said, still resting his head on me.

Buffy burst out laughing, “That is not how that saying goes at all!”

Cyrus gave me a half-smile and turned to look at the others, “Never have I ever eaten glue.” Cyrus said, smiling at Andi.

Andi rolled her eyes, “That was only a couple of times! When you spend as much time as I do around the stuff, you get hungry!” we all stared at Andi confused. “I was six!” she said, trying to cover her now blushing face. Amber placed a hand on her arm as the girl clapped her hands together. Then buffy did too.

We all snapped our attention to her, “What? Andi was very convincing when we were little!” She said.

Buffy narrowed her eyes at Cyrus, “Never have I ever kissed a girl!”

Cyrus made a disgusted face and clapped, Marty was next, then the unexpected happened. Amber and Andi both quietly each put a finger down, I only noticed because I happened to glance at them. I blinked at the pair; Amber shot me a death glare that said ‘I Dare you to open your mouth.’

I turned to Cyrus, “What was the girl’s name? The one that you kissed.”

His eyes were wide and focused on Andi who was giving him a similar look to the one Amber had just given me. He swallowed hard and looked at me with a nervous smile, “Um, Iris was her name. She was like a clone of me except in girl form; it was crazy.”

My mind was blown, “Wait, Ambs, Cyrus was the friend of Jonah’s that you set up with Iris?” Amber nodded, going along with the distraction, gratefully.

Buffy seemed to miss the entirety of the awkwardness that had just occurred and said, “No offense, TJ, but I liked her better than you.”

I gave Buffy a bored look, “Well, it’s pretty easy for you to like someone more than me. I _did_ get you suspended from the basketball team.”

Cyrus chimed in, “And she forgave you for that! Next topic!” He was clearly uncomfortable. Buffy and I laughed.

We spent another hour or so playing the game, and I mentally checked it off of the list of date Ideas with Cyrus. It was weird having my suspicions about Andi and Amber confirmed by a silly game. Well, they were basically confirmed, I didn’t want to out them to the others via a children’s game. Cyrus was the first one out, and everyone agreed to be done with the game. Marty had to go home early and left the rest of us to watch a movie. Amber pulled out a big blanket and sat down in the middle of the couch, Andi joined her, and Buffy sat on the Other side of Andi. Cyrus and I took the corner spot, and I nuzzled against his chest while he ran his fingers through my hair. The entire group ended up falling asleep while we watched some random rom-com. It was a magical feeling to fall asleep in the arms of someone you loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked the chapter! I'm gonna try and upload another on Monday! Leave a comment, I love hearing from you guys!


	11. Saturday, June 15th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TJ and Cyrus hang out with Marty from the party.

As magical as it felt to fall asleep in Cyrus’s arms; waking up in those arms was pure ecstasy. The five of us had all fallen asleep on the living room. The sun was coming through the window and making the room glow a soft orange. Cyrus’ hand was still on my head. The smell of his laundry detergent filled my nose as I lay there breathing him in. It was calming. His breathing was slow and making my head bob up and down. I stared out into the room and watched the dust particles float and dance in the beams of the morning sun. I wished that that moment would never end, that Cyrus and I could live happily for the rest of our lives in this peaceful, warm place.

Suddenly Cyrus’ hand began to run through my hair like he had been doing the night before and I nestled into his stomach a little more. His hand froze. Clearly, he also didn’t want this moment to end either. I took a couple deep breaths to make it look like I was sleeping still and he continued to card his fingers through my hair. In that moment I was so happy that I had not put gel in my hair the day before. After what felt like an eternity of bliss I finally turned my head and body so I was looking up at Cyrus from his lap.

I smiled at him, and he smiled back, “Good morning, cutie.” I said, my voice surprisingly raspy.

“Good morning, handsome.” He replied as he bent his head down to kiss my nose.

I let out a huff of approval as I asked, “Do we have to get up yet?” He smiled his beautiful, crinkly eyed smile at me, and I added, “I don’t want this perfect moment to end.”

Cyrus stretched his head down again, and kissed me. As he pulled away he said, “I think we should sit here until everyone else gets up.” He said as he glanced to the far end of the couch.

I craned my neck and saw the tangled mess that was my sister, Andi, and Buffy. I let my head flop back into Cyrus’ lap and his hand went back to playing with my hair. His free hand started rubbing circles on my chest and I took it in my hands and started playing with his fingers. His nails were bitten down, but they were shockingly soft. I pulled his hand up to my mouth and I kissed his palm. Cyrus chuckled, which made my head bounce. I lowered his hand and continued to play with his hand and fingers. We laid there for a few hours, enjoying the gentle touches in silence.

The date idea I had for today was a progressive dinner throughout Shadyside. I figured we could start at The Spoon and then find other things along the way. Downtown Shadyside had a lot of different options.

“So,” Cyrus started, “We agree that we aren’t going to say anything about what we found out last night, to anyone, right?”

“One hundred percent. It’s not our place to say anything. Could you imagine someone doing that to us?” I asked.

Cyrus’ face went to full concern mode, “That would be horrible! Okay, so mums the word.” Cyrus zipped his lips and threw away his imaginary key.

“I am so hungry, though! I can’t wait for some baby taters!” I said.

“Me too! Can I do a little tater theater before we go to the next restaurant?” Cyrus asked.

“Only if it's High School Musical, related,” I said seriously.

Cyrus chuckled and grabbed the door to The Spoon for me, “After you, good sir.”

“And they say that chivalry is dead!” I said as I Walked into the familiar diner. The sun was setting outside, so the neon lights in the room weren’t glowing as bright as they could.

Cyrus and I went to the back, corner booth and took a seat. When the waitress came by, we ordered our taters and started talking. About five minutes after we started talking, Marty walked through the door.

“Hey! Marty!” I waved to him, “Is it okay if he joins us?” I turned to Cyrus to ask.

“Of course!” Cyrus said.

“Yo! What are you two lovebirds up to?” Marty asked with a playful smile.

I rolled my eyes playfully, “We’re having a progressive dinner! We’re starting with baby taters for an appetizer!”

“That sounds like a deliciously fun night! I’ll let you two get back to it.” Marty said as he turned toward the bar.

“Wait!” Cyrus called out. Then he turned to me and whispered, “Is it okay if Marty joins us?” I nodded. “Do you want to join us on our little food adventure?”

Marty turned back around, “I don’t want to intrude on your date night, guys.”

“It’s not an intrusion! The more, the merrier!” I said.

Marty finally relented and joined us at the booth. When the baby taters came, Cyrus began his tater theater. He acted out the baseball scene from High School Musical Two. It was amazing and hilarious.

“We all need to hang more!” Marty said, wiping a tear from his eye from laughing so hard.

“Agreed!” I said beaming at him.

“I think so too.” Cyrus said. “I have to ask though…” Cyrus started but seemed to lose his boldness.

I gave him a questioning look and placed my hand on his knee.

“What happened at the tournament?” Cyrus asked as he bit his lip nervously.

I took a deep breath and looked at Marty, who was giving me a devilish look, “Teej, and I ended up in a hotel room with only one bed in it.” Marty said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Yeah, I got that part.” Cyrus said, rolling his eyes, “But what got you guys to become so close?”

Marty chuckled, “This one over here,” He pointed to me, “Made me play a very long and drawn-out guessing game of who he liked. Spoiler alert; it was you.”

“Yeah, Marty was the only other person I had ever come out to besides you, and Amber, of course.” I said.

Cyrus stared at Marty, “So you were okay with sharing a bed with a gay guy? That is so…”

“2019 of me? I know, I told TJ the same thing.” Marty said with a smirk.

Cyrus snorted, “I see why Buffy likes you so much, now. You’re a great guy Marty.”

“Aww, thanks, Cyrus! So are you! Teej is lucky to have someone like you.”

“Okay!” I said, wanting the compliment battle to be over with, “Since the taters are nearly done, I think we should head on out to the next restaurant!”

“Oooh, Kippen is getting jealous! He thinks I might steal his man!” Marty joked. I kicked him gently under the table. Marty’s face got serious, “Although, since we’re all hanging out now and you really do seem like an awesome guy, Cyrus. I’ll let you in on a little secret.” Marty leaned in towards Cyrus. Cyrus followed suit. “The reason I’m so chill about sleeping with a gay guy is because I’m part of the community too.”

Cyrus’ brow furrowed, “You’re Bi?”

An obnoxiously loud laugh burst out of me, which garnered me a few stares.

Marty laughed, “No, I’m trans.” He whispered.

Surprise lit up Cyrus’ face, “Oh! Thank you for telling me, and trusting me enough, Marty.”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, “Alright, with that out of the way; can we please go and get our next course?” I begged.

The other two laughed and began to get up. I followed them and draped my arm across Cyrus’ shoulder as we left The Spoon. Marty came up on the other side of me and draped his arm over my shoulders, and we all laughed and joked on our way through the evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said before this story takes place in Halelluja99's AU from Guessing game and Coming out and coming together. Both are exquisite works! If you liked this, feel free to leave me a comment, I really do treasure every single one! Kudos are also appreciated!


	12. Sunday, June 16th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cyrus, Buffy, Marty, and TJ go ax throwing!

“This entire situation makes me uncomfortable,” Cyrus said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Cyrus, it’s only for one photo, Marty said it was a thing,” Buffy said as she removed her shirt and revealed her black sports bra.

Cyrus groaned, “I am not taking my shirt off and posing with an ax in my hand! You guys all realize how ridiculous this is, right?”

“But it’s ax-throwing!” I said as I snuck up behind Cyrus and wrapped my arms around his chest and lifted him up. I spun him in a quick circle and let him down as he tried to suppress a laugh.

“Shirtless ax throwing!” Marty chimed in as he took his shirt off. “If you don’t want to be in the picture, that is fine, Cyrus.”

“Good, I will not participate then.” He said as he kissed my hand.

“Could you at least take our picture? Then we can get the guy at the counter to take one of all of us together!” Buffy said.

Cyrus groaned again, “Fine!” He wriggled out of my hug and pulled his phone from his pocket. “Okay, everyone stand together.” Cyrus sounded unamused, “You all look ridiculous.”

We posed with Buffy in the middle, flexing, while holding an ax, and Marty and I lunging away from her with our axes held out in front of us like torches.

After I put my shirt back on, I went over to Cyrus and said, “I’m sorry if this isn’t that good of a date.”

Cyrus gave me a confused look, “This is a great idea, what are you talking about?”

Now I was confused, “What are you talking about? You just said you were uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, with me taking my shirt off, I just got to see you with yours off, this is a win for me!” He beamed at me.

“Wow, who knew Cyrus Goodman was so thirsty?” Marty said as he put his shirt back on.

I chuckled and looked at Cyrus, who was now covering his face with his hands as he began to blush. I walked up to him and took his hands in mine and pulled them behind me, so he was hugging me. I bent my head down and pecked his nose with my lips. The giggle that escaped his lips made my heart stutter. “How are you this cute?” I whispered to him.

He pressed his forehead against mine and looked up into my eyes with his big beautiful brown eyes, “How are you this sweet?” he whispered back.

“Okay, lovebirds. Time to see who has the best accuracy out of this group.” Buffy said, pulling her shirt on and walking up to the table that had an assortment of axes on it. “Obviously, it will probably be me, but you can all still try.”

“You know, I almost believed you for a second,” Marty said, smiling at Buffy.

“Believed what?” she asked.

“That you thought that one of us could be better than you, I knew it was too good to be true.” Marty laughed.

I started to laugh, and Buffy shot me a glare, “You first Kippen!”

Cyrus gave me a pout and let go of my waist, “No need to be so bossy, Slayer.” I replied.

Walking up to the table, I picked up an ax and lost all of my confidence, “These are actually kind of heavy.”

Buffy scoffed, “Sounds like you should try lifting weights more often.”

“You are always on, aren’t you?” I asked with a chuckle.

Marty answered with a chuckle, “Yes. It's honestly scary.” I heard a thump behind me that was probably Buffy swatting at Marty, “Ouch!”

“I would call it a skill, personally. Be nice to Mr. The Party, Buffy,” Cyrus warned.

“I am being nice! But, thank you, Cyrus.” Buffy said. “At least someone here recognizes my talents.”

The ax felt awkward in my hand as I lifted it above my head and aimed. I reeled my arm back and then sent the ax flying. It ended up clattering to the ground next to the target.

Marty went next and had a similar outcome, Buffy was next and managed to hit the target in the bullseye, but the ax still fell to the ground.

“Wow, the videos online make this look so much easier than it actually is,” Marty said as he scratched the back of his neck. Buffy walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.

“Good to know it’s actually just really hard, and that it’s not that we’re all terrible at it,” Buffy said as she wrapped an arm around Marty’s waist and pulled him in close.

He rested his head on her shoulder, “Cyrus, are you going to try?”

“Honestly I was hoping you guys would forget that I hadn’t gone yet.” He said nervously.

“Just throw one, that way you can say that you at least tried,” I said, reaching out my hand and giving his a squeeze.

“Fine, only because it’s really hard to tell you no when you look at me like that.” He said, smiling.

I let his and go, and he made his way over to the table and picked up an ax with a shaky hand, “Just look where you want it to go!” I offered not even knowing if that was good advice to give.

Cyrus called me out immediately, “Thanks for the advice but seeing as you all did terribly, I’m just going to try my method.”

“Valid point,” Buffy said.

We all watched as Cyrus lifted the ax into the air over himself. He took a deep breath and launched the axe at the target. The ax flew through the air remarkably straight and sunk into the bullseye.

“What the-” Buffy said.

“How did you-” Marty followed.

“Holy crap, Underdog! That was amazing!” I yelled as I ran up behind him and hugged him.

“Huh,” He said as I squeezed him, “You guys made it look so hard. I just closed my eyes and threw it.”

“Wait, you did that with your eyes closed?” Buffy exclaimed.

“You’re lying,” Marty said deadpan.

Cyrus kissed my hand and unwrapped me from him, “Here I’ll show you again,” He said.

All three of us stood around him and watched him do the exact same thing he did before. He picked up the ax and held it above his head. This time though we could all see his face as he closed his eyes and let the axe go flying. It landed right next to the first one, and the rest of us let our mouths fall open in shock.

“How are you doing that?” Buffy asked.

“Jealous?” I asked her with a mischievous grin.

Buffy rolled her eyes playfully at me, “No, more like, confused. Since when did you become a blind marksman?” She asked Cyrus.

“Maybe it’s just a fluke?” Cyrus shrugged. He got a smug look on his face, “Or, maybe you’re all just terrible at this.” We all burst out laughing.

The rest of the hour, we all tried to do Cyrus’ technique, with no success. He managed to land every throw while the rest of us were terrible. Cyrus was loving every second of it. When our hour was up, we all headed home.

That night Cyrus and I were sitting on the bed on our phones. We were both cross-legged with our knees touching and our faces glowing from our screens. I glanced up at Cyrus and smiled at his furrowed brow.

His eyes flicked up to me, and his face softened, “What are you doing?”

“Admiring how perfect you are.”

“Gross, you’re so sappy.” He smiled at me.

“It true, though,” I replied as I put my phone down, “I hope you know how amazing I think you are.”

“You’re only saying this because I'm so good at ax throwing.” He laughed. I gave him a serious look, “I still don’t fully get it, though.” He said, worry coloring his face.

“What? The ax-throwing? I’m pretty sure you are actually just that good.” I said.

The worry faded from his face as he laughed at my response, but it came back quickly as he said, “No, I mean, why do you like me so much? This summer so far has been amazing, don’t get me wrong, but how did a guy like me end up with a guy like you?”

I hated when Cyrus got down on himself, so I took his hands in mine and looked him in the eyes, “You see me for who I really am, Cy. You love me for me, and that’s it. I love you because I see you. I see how kind, compassionate, caring, and brave you are. I wish you could see you the way I see you. I think you’d get it then.”

The corner of his mouth quirked up, and his eyes became glossy with unshed tears, “You’re amazing, Thelonious Jagger Kippen. You really are.”

His eyes flicked to my lips and back up to my eyes. I looked down at his lips and back into his beautiful eyes, that were now fluttering shut. Leaning in slowly, I let my eyes fall closed and kissed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like this chapter, it was really hard for me to write for some reason, hence the long wait. I always appreciate comments and drop a Kudo if you feel like it!


	13. Monday, June 16th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TJ's family has a dinner party with the whole gang.

Cyrus and I stood quietly in the kitchen, working on our own dishes for the dinner we were preparing. I was making homemade chili and currently stirring I the last of the ingredients. Cyrus was chopping up some vegetables for the salad. My dad was out on the back porch grilling some hot dogs, and my mom was frosting some cupcakes on the kitchen table.

“Do you play any instruments, Cyrus?” My mom asked.

Cyrus chuckled, “No, these hands were not made for dexterous movements.”

“That’s not true; you sing!” I said, turning to smile at Cyrus.

He gave me a confused look, “That’s not an instrument, and I’m not that good.”

I scoffed, “You got up and sang in front of all those people at Andi’s party. Someone who wasn’t that good would not do that.”

Cyrus rolled his eyes playfully, “I was hopped up on sugar, I can’t be held responsible for my actions.”

“I think using your voice to sing is like playing an instrument. I would love to hear you sing sometime, Cyrus.” My mom said.

“Only for you, Mrs. Kippen.”

I glanced at my mom and saw her smiling at her cupcakes. I turned back to my pot and continued stirring. It made me happy to see Cyrus talk with my mom, he was so easy to talk with, and I loved seeing him get along with my family.

I heard Ambers footfalls before I saw her enter the kitchen from the corner of my eye, “Theo is making the chili? I’ll pass on that.”

“You are so mean to him!” Cyrus said, laughing.

“When you have to live with that disgusting boy every day, you find it’s hard to be nice,” Amber said.

I shook my head, “You’re the one who lets her make-up get all crusty on the bathroom counter!” I countered.

“Touché baby brother. You’re still gross.” She said simply.

“I think we both lose here,” I said.

“You two are so strange, are all siblings like this?” Cyrus asked as he chuckled.

“Do you have any siblings, Cyrus?” My mom asked.

“Unfortunately, not, four parents and only one child.” He said with a sigh.

Amber made a hissing sound, “That’s rough.”

“To answer your question: No siblings are not normally like this.” My mom said. “These two used to be best friends, then they slowly devolved into quipping Kippen’s when they got into middle school, and it has gotten worse and worse ever since.” My mom said, sounding exasperated.

Everyone laughed, and I heard Cyrus dump the vegetables into the salad bowl. I was still stirring when Cyrus’ hand appeared on my arm, “How’s it going, Theo?”

“It’s going well, Underdog,” I said. “I’m gonna turn down the heat and let it simmer until everyone gets here.”

My mom spoke up again, “Will you play something for us, TJ?”

I let out an exaggerated groan, “Mom! Please don’t make me.”

“Aww please Teej!” Amber joined in.

“You should play them the song you wrote for me!” Cyrus added in.

Amber gasped, “You wrote Cyrus a song? You have to play it for us!”

“I agree!” My mom said.

The sliding glass door opened, and my dad said, “I agree too!” He knelt down and stage whispered to my mom, “What do we agree on?”

Cyrus answered, “TJ is going to play the song he wrote for me!”

“I haven’t heard you play in a while, TJ. That’d be great!” My dad said as he set the hot dogs on the counter and covered them in some tin foil.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed Cyrus’ hand, pulling him into the living room with me, “Cyrus is going to sing the word for you guys!”

“What? No, I’m-” I kissed him on the cheek, and his face flushed- “Sure, whatever you say.” He looked like he was in a daze.

We both sat on the bench, and I pulled the lyrics up on my phone for Cyrus. I began to play a long run of chords as my parents and Amber sat on the couch behind us.

I had played the song a few more times with Cyrus since the first time, and he had learned the melody pretty well, so I was confident that he would be able to follow along with me. We had split the lyrics up, so the song was a duet now. I started us off with the first verse, and Cyrus came in on the chorus with me harmonizing with him. Even if we didn’t sound the best, it still felt excellent singing these words to him and with him. As the song went on, Cyrus wrapped his arm around my waist and scooted close to me. His warmth was comforting against my side. As I played the final few chords and let the silence fill the room, Cyrus grabbed my hand and brought it up to his lips and laid the gentlest kiss against the back of it.

Suddenly, there was clapping from behind us, and it made both Cyrus and I jump. We were so wrapped up in our own little musical world that we had forgotten that we had an audience. I turned to look at the peanut gallery on the couch; my mom had some tears falling down her cheeks. My dad’s eyes were bloodshot, and amber had her phone up, recording the scene with glossy eyes.

“You two are so cute, and I want to make sure that you know that I am extremely disgusted by your happiness,” Amber said as she put her phone down.

My mom playfully nudged Amber, “Be nice.”

“That was nice!” Amber protested.

I smiled at the two, then my mom looked between Cyrus and me, “You tow sound amazing together.” Her gaze fell on Cyrus, “I’m so glad our Thelonious has you in his life.”

“Mom, stop!” I said as I covered my face with my hands, “I am so sorry, Cy.”

Cyrus chuckled, “I’m so glad that he’s in mine too.” He grabbed my hands and pulled them away from my hot cheeks and smiled at me.

The rest of the evening went well, Buffy, Marty, Andi, and Jonah all came over, and we enjoyed all of the delicious food and played card games until the sun set. My parents went to their bedroom and left the group of us out on the back porch. Throughout the evening, I found myself torn between watching Cyrus’ eyes crinkle when he laughed and catching the moments where Amber and Andi would catch one another staring, and letting little smiles dance on their lips. Even if they weren’t ready to say anything to everyone about what they had going on, it was fun watching my normally stoned-faced sister become a soft mess around Andi.

“I still feel bad about getting you in trouble that one night at the party,” Amber said to Andi.

“It was fine; my parents didn’t really care too much about me being at a high school party,” Andi said. “Besides, it was fun until I lost you.”

“You two get up to the most interesting things together,” Jonah said, “I remember that day that we went canoeing and Amber stood up and tipped you both into the water,” Jonah said laughing.

“No one told me that you couldn’t stand in a canoe!”

We all burst out laughing as Amber’s face glowed crimson. I watched Andi reach her hand over to Amber’s leg and squeeze it. Amber looked into Andi’s eyes, and I saw the strangest thing I’d ever seen. Amber’s eyes softened, and a shy smile spread across her lips. No one else seemed to notice, Marty started up another story and had everyone else’s attention as he waved his hands around animatedly. Cyrus was watching with a grin. I placed my hand on his knee and squeezed him. I watched as his eyes darted away from Marty to his knee and then back to Marty. His hand was suddenly on top of mine and began to play with my finger-tips.

Around eleven, everyone began to get up and start to leave. Finally, it was just Me, Maber, Andi, and Cyrus on the back porch.

“Is Bex coming to get you?” Cyrus asked.

“No, I’m staying the night here tonight!” Andi answered.

“Oh!” He said, shooting me a knowing look.

“Ok, what is that look? You tow have been doing that all night!” Amber exclaimed.

I laughed at Amber’s wild look in her eyes, “Nothing. Cyrus and I are gonna head to bed though. Have a good night, you two.” Said as I stood up. Cyrus’ mouth quirked up as he followed me up to my room.

As soon as my door clicked shut, Cyrus said, “They are _so _falling for each other! The sparks were flying all night! I was worried that they’d set the table cloth on fire!”

I laughed at Cyrus’ cute excitement, “It’s so weird seeing Amber be so… Nice? I think that’s what it is, Andi makes her so nice. It’s so creepy.” I shuddered.

Cyrus rolled his eyes, “I think that it’s super sweet that they make each other so happy.”

“Oh yeah, definitely. Still, weird seeing _nice_ Amber though.” We both let out laughs.

“I’m happy they have each other.” He said as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed his forehead against mine, “Just like I’m so happy I have you.”

“And I'm so happy that I have you,” I said, staring into his coffee-colored eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I'm updating so slowly! I'm just really good at procrastinating. I will try and get another chapter up in the next day or so! If you liked this chapter or the whole story so far, let me know in the comments! Also, Kudos are always appreciated :)


	14. Tuesday, June 18th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cyrus and TJ get their pictures taken.

Walking down main street with Cyrus’ hand in mine was a fantastic feeling. I thought I knew what it felt like to be confident when I was the captain of the basketball team; this was another level. Every once in awhile, Cyrus would stop us and point out something in one of the windows of the stores. I would glance at it, but the thing that I loved to watch was the way Cyrus’ face would light up with wonder. His eyes seemed to sparkle in a magical way that was different than they usually did. I couldn’t help but stare while he talked.

“You’re doing it again, Teej.” He said flatly.

That woke me from my daze, “Huh? What did you say?”

Cyrus rolled his beautiful chocolate brown eyes and smiled, “You’re not even listening to me!” He whined.

“I’m sorry, you’re just, so cute when you talk. I get lost when I look at you.” I squeezed his hand.

“You’re lucky that I love you because this would normally make me mad. But you are so cute when you get all dopey around me.” He cupped my cheek with his hand.

I nestled my face against his touch, then I asked, “What were you saying?”

He dropped his hand, I missed the feeling immediately, “I was saying that we should try and find a photo booth today. Wasn’t that one of the things on your list?”

“Oh yeah! It was. I’m pretty sure the arcade has one in it. We could head over there and check it out.” I pointed down the street in the general direction.

We started walking again, “When do you think that Andi and Amber will tell everyone about what they’re getting up to?”

“Whenever they’re ready.” I said, “They seem to be trying to figure it out still. I think they’re adorable together though. Andi seems to make Amber… sweeter. It’s a nice change of pace.”

“I think Amber makes Andi surer of herself. Which is funny to say because they are so unsure of everything right now, it seems. Although, the looks they were giving each other at dinner, seemed to say otherwise now.” He said, thinking out loud. Cyrus continued talking, and I found myself lost in his facial expressions again.

The way his brow furrowed when he thought about something was adorable. I loved when he would make himself laugh because his eyes would crinkle at the edges and get squinty. Now his face had gone flat, uh oh.

“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” He asked.

I felt my cheeks get hot, “I’m so-”

He cut me off, “Sorry. I know you said that already.” He chuckled to himself, “I love you, TJ Smitten.”

“And I love you too, Cyrus… Cuteman?” I said hesitantly.

He burst out laughing, “It doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily, but I’ll give you partial credit for the effort.”

We approached the Arcade, and I held the door open and let Cyrus’ hand fall as he went into the old building. The carpets were red with blue planets and rocket ships splattered across them. For some reason, the smell of the arcade was familiar, even though I never spent too much time here as a little kid. The games all had either flashing lights around them or flashing screens. There were people of all ages roaming around, and the atmosphere was pure happiness. The photobooth was right in the center of the room where I remembered it to be, and I lead Cyrus to it.

“This thing looks like it was pulled right out of the eighties, are you sure it still works?” Cyrus asked as he wiped a finger across one of the surfaces and checked for dirt.

“I’m pretty sure it does, there’s no sign that says otherwise!” I said, checking out the sides of the machine.

After my brief survey, I pulled the curtain back and let Cyrus slip in first, then I followed. Amazingly enough, it only cost fifty cents to use, so I plunked in the quarters from my pocket, and the machine came to life.

“Silly faces first!” I exclaimed.

I stuck my tongue out and crossed my eyes while pulling my ears out.

**POP**

“The thinker!” Cyrus said.

I looked up to the side and stroked my chin with my thumb and pointer finger.

**POP**

“Kiss my cheek!” I said.

I felt Cyrus lean in, and just as his lips were about to hit my cheek, I turned my head and caught his lips with mine. His eyes shot open in surprise.

**POP**

Cyrus looked at me with a soft face, and I pressed my forehead against his and let my eyes fall shut. I felt his nose bump into mine.

**POP**

I opened my eyes to see Cyrus’ still closed, his lashes against his cheeks. A smile spread across my face. Cyrus looked so happy.

**POP**

There were only five photos per strip, but I didn’t want to ruin this moment, so I sat there, my forehead pressed against Cyrus’. He took a deep breath as his eyes drifted open.

“You have the most beautiful eyes, you know.” He said.

“I wish we could stay in this moment forever,” I responded.

We both took deep breaths and pulled apart, “We should see how they turned out.”

I stood up first and stepped out into the arcade. Holding the curtain back for Cyrus, he followed me and pecked my cheek as he came out. The photo strip was lying in the metal receptacle, and I picked it up. I couldn’t help but laugh at the shocked look on Cyrus’ face when I turned to kiss him.

“What?” He asked and grabbed for the pictures. “You surprised me with that! But I’m not complaining; I’ll take any excuse to kiss you.”

“You will, will you?” I smirked at him

He smirked back at me, “I will!” Then he leaned in and kissed me.

I smiled against his lips. Kissing Cyrus Goodman felt like winning the lottery. Well, what I assume winning the lottery would feel like. Maybe it was more like scoring the winning basket in a game. Whatever it was like, it was the best feeling in the world.

“Wanna go back home and cuddle while we watch a movie?” I asked him.

“Only if it’s about reptiles.” He said with a knowing smile.

“That was the only thing on my mind.” I smiled back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't too long of a chapter, sorry, but I wanted to just do pure fluff. I needed this in my life this week.


	15. Wednesday, June 19th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cyrus and TJ look at old photos

As I pulled my old baby photos down from the hall closet, a plume of dust fell over me. A sneeze escaped my lips.

"Bless you!" Cyrus shouted from the living room.

"Thank you!" I yelled back.

"Stop flirting!" Amber yelled at both of us. I rolled my eyes, "And stop rolling your eyes at me, TJ! I can feel it from my room!"

Cyrus' magical laugh floated toward me and made me smile. I lifted the massive binder up and headed out to Cyrus. I had taught Cyrus some chords to practice, and I could hear him plinking them out as I approached the living room. He was sat, hunched over the piano. I could see his tongue clenched between his teeth as he thought carefully about his next finger placement. Setting the photo album on the couch, I sat down next to Cyrus on the piano bench.

He played a whole chord, then another right after and gave me a worried look, "Was that right?"

The way his eyebrows knit together was so cute, I reached my thumb up to the space where they wrinkled and smoothed it out, "That was great, Cy."

The worry melted from his face, then returned immediately, "You're not just saying that because I'm your boyfriend, are you?"

I scoffed, "No, you are doing a great job remembering the notes! I promise." His face melted as his angelic smile appeared.

"So, where are these so-called, 'embarrassing' baby photos?" He asked, eyes glancing around the room. His gaze zeroed in on the album. A devilish grin spread across his face, "I'm so excited!" He stood up and went to the couch.

I followed him and picked up the album and took a seat on the plush cushion. Cyrus plopped down next to me and snuggled up against my side. Sunlight was peeking through the half-closed blinds and casting circles of golden light across Cyrus' face. One of the beams of light caught his eye and made it shine golden.

"Teej! You're doing it again!" He whined.

I blinked a few times, "You could fix this if you would stop being so beautiful all the time."

Cyrus looked at me with an incredulous smile, "If anyone is beautiful, it's you, Theo."

Feeling Cyrus breath against me while he stared into me was a fantastic feeling. We stared at each other for a few moments before I finally broke off the moment by flipping the album open.

"Oh my god! You were so cute! You had a bowl cut?"

I laughed, "They were cheap!" I defended.

"You were a velociraptor for Halloween? I knew there was a dinosaur nerd in there somewhere!" Cyrus said as he poked my temple. I grabbed his hand and kissed his knuckle.

"What can I say? The fact that you love dinosaurs was the real reason I fell for you!" I said, smiling at him.

I continued flipping the pages and let Cyrus tell me when to turn the pages. His arm slowly crept behind my back, encircling me in a side hug. His hand finally made it to the other side of me while we continued chuckling at my old pictures. His fingertips wrapped around my waist and gave me little squeezes every few seconds. My head slowly drifted down to rest against the top of his.

"Aww, how cute! Look at you in your T-Ball uniform!" Cyrus exclaimed.

"You mean, Jonah's uniform," I said glumly.

Cyrus shifted and pulled away from me and looked me in the eyes with his big brown ones, "You  _ do _ remember that he forgave you for that, right? I didn't imagine that whole situation, did I?"

I shook my head, "No, you're right, he did." I stopped, my eyes falling back on the picture, "I just… I still feel bad knowing that I'm the reason Jonah gave up on sports."

"You can't change the past," Cyrus said simply. "Plus, you guys are friends now anyway. It ended up working out. You don't have to focus on all the negatives."

I let out a breath that I 'didn't realize I was holding, and let my eyes find Cyrus'', "I'm so glad that we met each other. I don't know what would've happened to me if you wouldn't have believed in me, or seen the good in me."

"Luckily we don't have to have to find out. You're you, and you've become the wonderful person I always thought you could be." Cyrus said with an endearing confidence.

Amber appeared in the doorframe, "Yuck, you two just love going back and forth with your compliment battles, 'don't you?"

"You could also mind your own business," I said with a smug smile.

Amber's nostrils flared, "Did he show you the bath-time pictures yet?" Her question was directed at Cyrus.

Cyrus chuckled, "No, now my curiosity is piqued, though!"

"No need to subject you to those horrible pictures!" I said with panic rising in my voice.

Amber walked up to us and snatched the book up and flipped right to the page and turned it around, revealing the terrible picture. "There you go, TJ Kippen, with flowing bubble locks."

"Aww," Cyrus cooed, "You look like one of the judges from England with those big powdered wigs!"

My face grew hot, and my free hand came up to my face, covering the redness that was surely spreading from my face to my neck. "You can go back to being an angsty high schooler now, sister!" I glared at Amber.

"I just needed to make sure that Cyrus saw you in all your dorky glory!" She smiled victoriously at me and threw the album back into my lap, then walked out of the room.

"For the record, I don't think that bubble-wig-TJ is dorky. I think he's very distinguished!" Cyrus said as he squeezed my side.

"Thanks, Underdog," I said and kissed the top of his head.

We sat there on the couch for a few hours; eventually, Cyrus fell asleep and wrapped his arms around me tight. He looked like a Koala, and I loved every second of it. Feeling Cyrus hold on to me like that was a feeling that I never wanted to end. The soft puffs of breath that escaped his lips were delicate, just like him.

I quietly closed the album and sat it next to us. With my free hand, I took one of Cyrus' hands and began playing with his fingers like he always did with mine. His hands were small and soft. He didn't have the calluses that I did from all of the Basketball I played. They were different and yet so familiar to me. Slowly I brought his hand up to my lips and kissed his palm, then pressed it against my cheek. The happiness I felt at that moment was incomparable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all liked this! I'm gonna write another chapter later today. Please comment if you liked it!


	16. Thursday, June 20th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cyrus and TJ plan their future house

I held the glass door open for Cyrus as he walked past me, “This is such a fun idea! Do we have a budget? What’s the color scheme? Do we plan no having pets?”

I laughed, “The answers to those questions are: No, because we aren’t buying anything. I was thinking, white, pink, and light gray. The last one is a maybe. I would love a cat someday.”

“That last answer shocks me,” He said with his eyes narrowed.

“That I want a pet? Or that I want a cat?” I asked. We walked over to the couch section of the furniture store first.

“The cat part. I would’ve pegged you as a dog person…” He trailed off as he ran his fingers over the blue fabric of a couch.

I thought about that for a second, “Well, I was thinking that if you’re going to be a famous filmmaker and going to festivals and stuff all over the world, I would like something easy to take care of by myself.”

Cyrus stared at me and blinked a few times before flopping on to the couch, “You have put a lot of thought into this.”

I scratched the back of my neck nervously and plopped down next to Cyrus, “Just a little. I like thinking about a happy life with you.” I smiled at him. “This couch is too squishy; it’s a no from me,” I said quickly and stood up. I turned to face Cyrus and offered my hands. He took them and pulled himself up. Seeing an opportunity, I pulled Cyrus a little harder than necessary and made him stumble into my arms.

He giggled, “Hey, no fair using my weak core strength as a flirting tactic.”

“You’re the one who has their arms wrapped around me,” I said chuckling.

“And now your arms are around me, funny how that always tends to be the outcome in these situations, hmm?” Cyrus squeezed my torso and buried his face against my chest.

My heart was racing; he could probably hear it if he tried, “Any opportunity to hold you? I’m gonna take it.”

We slowly released our grips on one another and continued testing out couches. Cyrus liked the leather ones; I had to keep reminding him of the cat’s claws, “Couldn’t we just trim them?” he asked.

“You want to try and trim a cat’s claws?” I asked incredulously.

Cyrus shook his head, a devious smile teasing his lips, “I thought that you would do that.”

“Ha! I would never ever try to do that to a cat! I value my life.” I said.

A loud laugh escaped from Cyrus, and he clamped his hands over his mouth and continued laughing. Watching him laugh that hard made me begin to laugh as well. We had made it to recliners, and both ended up collapsing into a pair next to each other. After catching our breath, Cyrus reached his hand out and grabbed mine. Our hands swung back and forth in the space between us.

“Can you imagine us, sitting in our recliners, watching old reruns of our favorite shows?” He asked.

I smiled and squeezed his hand, “Yeah, I think about it all the time, honestly.” I paused and looked at him, a dreamy smile was plastered across his face, “That’s not weird, is it?” I asked.

“Not at all. I’m glad to know that we’re both equally as excited about us.” He turned his head to look at me, adjusting it a few times before continuing, “I know that we’re barely in high school, and don’t know anything about relationships, but, I know I really do love you, TJ Kippen.”

My vision went a little blurry around the edges from the tears of happiness that were beginning to form. I sniffed and smiled at him, “I really love you too, Cyrus Goodman.”

There was a long moment of silence as we both stared lovingly into each other’s eyes. Finally, I remembered where we were, and I sat up abruptly. Cyrus jumped, from the sudden movement, “On to the dining room?” I asked as I kissed the top of his hand.

Cyrus smiled at me, the way he always did. His eyes were getting crinkly and his lips pressed together, “Of course! We need to have a place for guests to eat when we have our fancy dinner parties!”

We ran through the store, hand in hand, laughing and talking about different things we’d want in our lives.

“So, you're telling me that you either want to teach middle school English or be a concert pianist, before you’d even consider professional basketball?” Cyrus asked dumbfounded.

I shrugged, “I love basketball, don’t get me wrong. But, when I read a book, or play a new song, there’s just nothing that compares to that feeling!”

Cyrus stared at me but smiled and said, “I’d do anything to let you feel that way all the time.”

I smiled at him, “I’d do anything to make you happy too. Did you sign up for film class next year?”

“I did! I think it will be nice to get some more experience with filming and stuff. Since you’re so into literature maybe I could have you help me with a screenplay sometime?” he asked.

“Duh! I’m your boyfriend. I’m legally obligated to help you!”

Cyrus furrowed his brow, “I’m not quite sure about the legal part…”

“It’s true; I legally have to do everything in my power to help you and make you happy. It’s in the constitution!” I stared at him, trying to keep my composure. Finally, I started to laugh and Cyrus’ confused look melted into laughter as well.

Cyrus and I went to the bedroom section, and he began talking about ideas for different movies he wanted to make. I watched him as he spoke; his eyes almost glowed with joy when he spoke. It made me so happy to see him this happy. Every other bed, we would test out both sides of the mattress. “Since we don’t know who would take what side of the bed.” Cyrus had said. It was a valid point. Even though we were sleeping in the same room, we had never once tried to break the rule that my parents had set. I didn’t mind; I had a good view of Cyrus while he peacefully slept. I loved rolling over in the morning and seeing Cyrus so tranquil.

On the last bed we laid on, Cyrus scooted over to me and lay his head on my chest, “Teej?”

“Yeah, Underdog?” I asked.

“We’re gonna be together forever, right?”

“That was my intention,” I said.

“Good, mine too. Just checking.” His had laid down gently against my stomach, and I kissed the top of his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God damn, I love writing this fluff so much. If you also enjoy it, feel free to let me know in the comments! It makes my day to see them! Kudos are also great too lol


	17. Friday, June 21st

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang all goes to Target!

“So, why are we all going shopping with you guys?” Jonah asked as he set the squishy neon ball back on the shelf, that he had been tossing between him and Buffy.

Andi gasped, “Jonah!”

Jonah mockingly gasped back at Andi, “Andi!”

She gave him an unamused look, “Jonah, shopping at Target is an experience. It’s an experience that should be shared with friends!”

“Then why is Marty here?” Buffy asked.

“Ouch, Driscoll! I almost forgot that we were actually a couple there for a second.” Marty said making puppy-dog eyes at Buffy and holding his chest like he had been wounded.

“You know, it’s good that you two know that you’re together,” Cyrus said, glancing between the pair.

“He knows I care!” Buffy said as she wrapped her arm around his and began to walk down the aisle toward the electronics.

“It’s true, I do.” Marty beamed at us and let his head gently rest against the top of Buffy’s as they walked.

“You’ve been awfully quiet, sister,” I said to Amber.

“Hmm?” She hummed as she tore her gaze away from Andi, who was trying on hats with Jonah.

“I said, you’ve been really quiet today. Is everything alright?” I asked.

Amber sighed, “I’m fine.” She looked at Cyrus and me. I had my arm wrapped around Cyrus’ the same way Buffy had hers with Marty. “I just want… that.” She motioned to our interlocked arms.

Cyrus looked at me with a knowing smile and said, “I think she’s jealous.”

“What? I am not jealous!” She insisted.

I smirked at Amber, “I think you’re jealous of Andi and Jonah.” I said, baiting her, but also keeping my voice low so the laughing pair wouldn’t hear us.

Amber’s eyes nearly popped out of her head, “TJ! Shut up!” She whisper-yelled at us.

“What? I would be jealous of my ex-boyfriend hanging out with the girl that was as awesome as Andi too.”

“You realize I know where you sleep, right?” She asked with playful venom.

I put my free hand up in surrender, “You’re right; I’ll let it be.”

“I think talking about how you feel would really help the situation,” Cyrus added.

Amber let out a huff, “I know you two know what’s actually going on.” Amber said as she settled against the shelving.

Her sudden admission caught me off guard, but I played it cool, “I have no idea what you are talking about, Amber. I would never snoop in your personal life.” I said with a robotically, smooth voice.

Amber rolled her eyes, “We’re not subtle. At least, I’m not.” She paused and let out a breath, “Do you think she feels the same?”

I blinked a few times, she was actually opening up to me and Cyrus about this, “I mean, you’ll never know unless you ask.”

“Or make a move in your brother’s case,” Cyrus added and smiled at me. His free hand crossed over the one I had my arm wrapped around and found my hand to give it a loving squeeze.

“But, she’s only dated guys.” Amber reasoned.

“Cyrus had only dated Iris!” I countered.

Amber let out a huff, “Fine, but I’ll ask her when the entire gang isn’t around.”

I nodded thoughtfully, “Good idea.”

She pushed herself up off of the shelves and walked over to Andi and Jonah and started trying on sunglasses. All three of them were laughing at the ridiculousness of a pair that were shaped like pineapples. Cyrus and I walked by and continued toward the electronics, where Buffy and Marty had gone. We found the couple trying out a VR headset. Buffy had it on while Marty was poking her sides and making her laugh.

“Hey, Teej, what were you going to get today? Anything in particular?” Marty asked as he stopped pestering Buffy, who seemed saddened at the sudden loss of Marty’s pokes.

“You know, I’m trying to have the best Target experience today, which means; I’ll let the store tell me what I’m going to get,” I said.

“I like that idea!” Cyrus said.

“I find that hard to believe,” Buffy said as she removed the headset.

“Why?” Cyrus asked.

Buffy laughed, “You like having a list and knowing exactly what to get.”

Cyrus thought about that and pulled his phone out, “Well, this list of things that I found online last night, is made up of suggestions from the website! So, it may be a list, but the store told me what to get!” Cyrus reasoned.

The three of us laughed, “I’d say that your reasoning makes sense.” I said to Cyrus.

“Of course, you would,” Buffy said with a chuckle, “Cyrus could tell you that the sky was green and you’d agree with him.”

I was about to argue that but stopped when I thought about the way Cyrus talked and how it made me happy to hear his voice. I let out a sigh, “You’re right, I would.”

“Aww, Kippen! That’s so cute; you’re so smitten.” Buffy said. She furrowed her brow and then added, “You’re a smitten Kippen!” She thought about it again, “You’ve also become really nice and fluffy, I think I’m going to start calling you TJ Kitten.”

The old me would’ve hated that, but the way that Cyrus cooed at the nickname made me melt a little, so I shrugged and went along with it. I liked who I had become after meeting Cyrus. He showed me how being authentically you, has no downsides. Looking back at myself from a year ago was strange, that TJ was such a coward. That TJ was obsessed with making sure people were scared of him. That TJ did whatever he could to make sure everyone else felt less than. Thinking about that TJ made me sad, that version of me was so desperate for approval and validation that he did whatever he could to get it. Then the sweetest boy I had ever seen admitted to me that he couldn’t do a simple task without even flinching, and I felt my world shift. Cyrus had shown me the power of being vulnerable with people. He showed me how much power there was in being okay with yourself. He showed me how to accept yourself entirely, even if you can’t understand why you should.

“You okay there?” Buffy asked as she waved her hand in front of my face.

“Yeah, sorry, just thinking.” I grinned at her and looked at Cyrus and let my face go soft.

When Cyrus’ eyes met mine, he seemed to understand what I was thinking. Blinking slowly, his eyebrows drew together, and a small smile formed on his delicate lips. He let out a huff of air, “You are so cute when you get lost in thought.”

Buffy started making a gagging sound, “I regret giving you that nickname, it’s somehow made you even softer, and it’s officially too much for me.” I chuckled and glanced at her, “C’mon Marty, let’s go find everyone else.”

Marty had been playing with the VR headset and looked sad when Buffy pulled it off of him. “I’m mad at you for being soft and grossing out Buffy. But I’m also so happy that you are being soft.” Marty glared at me playfully as Buffy Dragged him away.

“Mission accomplished,” I said.

Cyrus’ brows knit together, “What mission?”

“Operation get you alone!” I said as I wrapped my arms around Cyrus’ waist.

He rolled his eyes, “You could’ve just asked me.”

I brought my lips to his and let my eyes flutter shut at the contact. Cyrus’ hands were suddenly cupping my face, and I felt the air leave my lungs in a whoosh. I let my hands slide up his back and rest on his shoulder-blades. After a moment of pure bliss had passed, we separated, “Sorry,” I said and let my eyes fall on the display shelf behind Cyrus.

“Never apologize for making my day better!” Cyrus said with a giggle. “TJ Kitten is my favorite thing about you.”

I snorted, “That is the most ridiculous thing you have ever said.”

“It may sound ridiculous, but it’s true; I love it when you get lost in your thoughts like that. I can almost read your mind when you do that.”

“How?” I asked.

“Your face shows all of the different emotions you feel when you do that.” He laughed, “It’s kind of funny to watch you run through all of those emotions so quickly.”

My face got hot, “That’s embarrassing.” I said.

Cyrus kissed both of my cheeks, making them grow even hotter, “It’s sweet. I remember when the only emotion I could see on your face was annoyance. This is a nice change; a good change.” He then gave my nose a light kiss. “Let’s go get back to the others now.”

I nodded and released him from my embrace, then took his small hand in mine and pulled him with me to the rest of the group. We found them all trying on the largest sweatshirts they could find. Marty and Jonah had them wrapped around their shoulders like superhero caped and were posing for each other while snapping photos. Andi, Buffy, and Amber were all finding belts to wrap around their waists to make the gigantic sweatshirts into dresses.

“Take a picture of us for Instapic, Teej!” Amber begged.

I walked over to the trio and took Ambers's phone; they ran through a few poses, Charlie’s Angels, the sorority girl squat, and the kiss on each cheek with your foot in the air. Andi ended up being the one in the middle with her hand over her mouth as she made an ‘O’ with her lips. After I took the final picture, I noticed that Andi seemed to be lost watching Amber scroll through the photos. She had a dopey smile plastered across her face while she stared at Amber’s reactions to the pictures, smiling when Amber did. Amber maybe had a hard time telling if Andi liked her, but I could see it plain as day. She was head over heels for my sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so much fun to write! I love having everyone in the same room haha I hope you liked it, I'm gonna try and include the whole friend group a little more from now on. If you liked it, let me know with a comment! Kudos are also appreciated! I hope you are having a good day when you read this, if not, I hope this helps you feel a little better <3


	18. Saturday, June 22nd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cyrus and TJ break the rules.

Cyrus and I had spent the entire day at the park and the neighborhood around it, picking up trash. So, when I collapsed on to my bed dramatically, it felt deserved.

Cyrus flopped down next to me and laced his fingers with mine, “That was exhausting. Who knew that the residents of Shadyside were all a bunch of litterbugs?”

I chuckled and turned my head to look at him, “When I thought of that date idea, I assumed that we would only pick up, like, five bottles max. Sorry that it turned into such a huge ordeal.”

Cyrus turned his head to face me and smiled, “Anything that allows me to spend that much time with you is worth the effort.”

I shifted, so I was lying on my side with our hands still connected, and stretched my neck out and caught his lips with my mine. A little puff of air escaped his nose. I pulled back and looked at him, “Is this okay?”

The corner of his mouth curved up as he said, “This is great; you just surprised me.”

“Sorry,” I said.

“It’s okay,” He said, then stretched his neck out and kissed me.

It still made my head spin a little when Cyrus’ lips were on mine. The way he kissed was so gentle and perfect. I never wanted it to end. His free hand went to my cheek and cupped it. I broke from our kiss to press my cheek against his hand. His palm was so soft and delicate; I loved it when he did this. I closed my eyes as I nuzzled his hand and let myself enjoy the contact.

Suddenly I felt pressure against my cheek, and I was being guided back to Cyrus’ lips. My hand went to his cheek, and we lay there, enjoying each other’s presence. We pulled away and stared into each other’s eyes for a second.

“I’m sad that your parents are coming home in a couple of days,” I said.

Cyrus’ smile faltered, “Yeah, but at least we can still have sleepovers for the rest of summer. If my memory is correct, you have every single day planned out.”

I nodded, “That is true. I took a page from you and made sure we could never be done with each other.”

“I could never be done with you.” Cyrus smiled, “Now, the air mattress, I’m very done with. If I never sleep on an air mattress again, I could be happy in life.”

“Is it that bad?” I asked.

Cyrus laughed, “I thought I had aches and pains before, I had no idea what I was talking about. I’m pretty sure I could sit with my Aunt Ruthie and actually be able to beat her at ‘who has the most aches and pains!’”

“I’m sorry, I can take it tonight so that you can have a break,” I said as I squeezed his hand.

“Or…” he said, suddenly looking embarrassed.

“Or what?” I asked.

“Or, we could share the bed…” Cyrus said in a whisper so quiet; I almost missed it.

I blinked rapidly at him, “Excuse me, I didn’t quite catch that, Mr. I-Live-In-The-Middle.”

“What?” He scoffed, “Maybe I feel like letting you drive me to the edge! I heard the view from there is stunning!”

I shook my head and stared at him in wonder, “You are amazing, Mr. Goodman.”

“I’m pretty sure that you’re also amazing, Mr. Kippen.” He said back.

The rest of the evening went, as usual, Cyrus and I had our normal piano lesson for an hour or so, and then we went back to my room to get ready for bed. My mom had made a habit of poking her head in just before lights out to wish us goodnight. So we didn’t get caught in our scheme, Cyrus laid down on the air mattress like normal.

“Goodnight, boys!” My mom said as she poked her head into my room.

“Goodnight!” We said in unison.

She smiled and turned the light off. We both sat there in silence as we listened for my parent’s bedroom door to close. As soon as we heard the door click shut, Cyrus jumped into action. He threw his sheets off of himself and got up. I pulled the covers back on my bed, and he climbed in and took the covers from me and snuggled up against my side. I slid my arm under his neck and wrapped my arm around his shoulders. His arm snaked its way under my torso and pulled me tight against him.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this! I feel like a rebel without a cause!” He whispered into my chest.

I giggled, “I’m also shocked that you wanted to do this. This is so risky!”

“You’re worth the risk.” He said as he lifted his head from my chest to kiss my cheek.

Cyrus let his head fall back against my chest, and I pressed my lips against the top of his head and let my cheek rest against his head. My thumb was rubbing circles on Cyrus’ shoulder as he spoke.

“I’m so glad that you made a move.” He said.

“What are you talking about?” I questioned, feeling my eyebrows knit together.

“At Andi’s party. I had a feeling that you, maybe, felt the same about me, but I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. You were so brave. I’m so glad that you made that first move with your hand.” Cyrus laughed lightly, “When you asked me if I had any more questions, and you started to move your hand, I almost passed out.” I laughed at that.

“I almost passed out when you started moving yours, too,” I said.

“Could you imagine Bex coming out to the backyard and finding the two of us passed out on that bench?” We both burst out laughing and immediately tried to stifle our laughter.

“I’m so glad I met you,” I said.

“I’m so glad I met you too.” He said back.

“I would’ve probably gotten kicked off the team if it weren’t for you,” I said with a sigh.

“Buffy was helping you with that, though.”

I chuckled, “But you were the one that helped me. You told me that there was nothing wrong with me when that’s all I could think about; about how something was wrong with me, that I was broken. You always knew that there was nothing wrong with me. You believed in me before I could.” I felt tears stinging my eyes.

“You didn’t laugh at me,” Cyrus said.

“What?” I asked.

“That was how I knew that there was someone good in you.” He said simply.

I was still not following, “What?”

Cyrus chuckled, “When Buffy asked you to get me a muffin, and you asked me if I couldn’t get my own muffin. I said that I couldn’t and you didn’t laugh. You just said that you could, but that you would rather help me learn to do it myself. A bad person wouldn’t do that; you wanted to help me help myself.” He sighed, “That was the moment I realized you weren’t bad.”

I smiled, “I remember that you were so nervous, I thought you were so cute.”

Cyrus gasped, “You thought I was cute! Way back then?”

I laughed, “Yeah, I’ve always thought you were cute. When you were celebrating with Buffy when she made the team was when I first noticed you. The way you got so excited for her made me smile. That was part of the reason I wanted to help you with the muffin. I wanted to see you happy like that again.”

“Wow, I had no idea.” He said.

“Yeah, you’ve always affected me,” I said with a chuckle.

“I love you, Not-So-Scary-Basketball-Guy,” Cyrus said.

I sniffed as a tear fell down my cheek, “I love you too, Underdog.”

Cyrus squeezed my torso, and I wrapped my other arm around him and turned onto my side, so we were now facing each other and holding each other tight. We fell asleep like that, wrapped in each other’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like this chapter! I loved writing it. Leave a comment if you want! I love hearing from you all!


End file.
